Oneida County officials and several community partners had a tremendously successful 'National Take Back Day' drug collection event.

Members of Oneida County Government, the Center for Family Life and Recovery, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office and Utica Police partnered to provided a safe and convenient way for the public to dispose of their prescription drugs.

The day’s event led to the collection of over 1,460 pounds of expired and unused prescription and over the counter drugs. An effort that is aimed at one day eradicating one of the root causes of opioid addiction. So many young people have found themselves addicted to drugs because of access to unused prescriptions. A statement on the National Take Back Day official website says,

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019.

If you missed the National Take Back Day event, you can always find a way to safely dispose of those old medicines. You can stopped by any local police department to drop them in their drug disposal boxes or you can find out when the next "MedReturn" days will be. Officials are thanking all community members who took part in the successful event.

Oneida County Drug Take Back Day

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