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Saturday's Drug Take Back event netted more than one ton of unneeded drugs

Safe disposal protects the community and environment
Posted on: November 2, 2023 - 1:55pm
Two-county Drug Take Back Day disposes of more than 1 ton of drugs
The crew in Northampton after all communities had checked in.

 Saturday’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events in Hampshire and Franklin Counties collected 2,568 pounds of drugs, safely disposing of the unwanted and unneeded substances. Nine communities in Hampshire county and five towns in Franklin County participated.

That means the Northwestern District has safely disposed of 71,584 pounds of drugs since 2011 during Take Back Days and the permanent drug collection boxes stationed at many area police departments, ridding the region of unneeded prescription and non-prescription drugs, preventing misuse and keeping them out of water sources and landfills.

Saturday’s total is significantly more than the 1,681 pounds collected in April; Take back tallies in 2022 were 1,900 and 1,935 pounds.

The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office teams up with local police departments, the Hampshire and Franklin Sheriff’s offices, county-based TRIAD initiatives and the national Drug Enforcement Agency to organize the twice-a-year collections. Local drug prevention coalitions, including Hampshire HOPE and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County support the efforts.

The following communities took part in Saturday’s event: Amherst, Belchertown, Deerfield, Easthampton, Hadley, Leverett, Montague, Northampton, Orange, Pelham, South Hadley, Sunderland, Williamsburg, Worthington.