Oxford Police Department (OPD) hosted a collection site for the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 28, at their station on Molly Barr Road. The event, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., saw a total of 182 pounds of prescription medications collected and then turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for proper disposal.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a bi-annual initiative organized by the DEA held on the last Saturdays of April and October across the country. It aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs while educating the public about the potential for misuse of medications.

Shelby Hernandez with the OPD shared the initiative’s goals: “The National Drug Take Back aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs while educating the public about potential abuse of medications.”

This year’s collection at the Oxford Police Department decreased compared to the previous year, where 245 pounds of medications were collected. Nonetheless, the continued involvement of OPD in this initiative supports the more significant national effort to curb prescription drug misuse and educate the public on the associated risks.

In the most recent nationwide event held in April 2023, 663,725 pounds (332 tons) of prescription drugs were collected with the involvement of 4,497 law enforcement entities and 4,955 collection sites across the country. The cumulative weight of prescription drugs collected through this initiative over the years stands at 17,300,454 pounds (8,650 tons).

DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day encourages the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction. DEA sponsors collection sites throughout the country where medications can be dropped off for proper disposal, thereby contributing to the broader fight against drug misuse and the opioid crisis.