Credit: Naoto Anazawa
Bucks County took in a whopping 9,374.47 pounds of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription medications over the weekend.
Last Saturday’s outing of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day in Bucks County took in the large haul. The more than 9,000 pounds of drugs added to Bucks County’s total of medications collected since 2010. The final tally is 172,014.47 pounds collected over the years.
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Police collected needles at three sites across the lower, central, and upper ends of the county. A total of 953 pounds of sharps were collected Saturday, which culminates to 1,403 pounds since the sharps collection began last year.
“The fact that we have been number one in the state in medication take back shows our Bucks County community’s commitment to keeping all of us safe,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. “We ‘get it.’ Each medication, vape, sharp, or pet med properly disposed of is one that can never be diverted to hurt or kill anyone ever again. We intend to never relinquish our title.”
The collected medications are destroyed.
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“The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. Prescription and over-the-counter drugs are the most commonly misused substances by Americans 14 and older, after marijuana and alcohol, and more than half of people who abuse prescription pain relievers get them from friends or relatives,” according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
There are more than 40 year-around drop-off sites around the county for residents to use.
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