Lincoln Co. participating in annual drug take back day

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana joins the Drug Enforcement Administration in support of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27. The biannual event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at sites across Montana. The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Locally, prescription drugs may be dropped off at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office lobby on California Avenue in Libby, the north Law Enforcement Center lobby in Eureka and at the old Troy dispatch lobby in Troy. 

Sheriff Darren Short said the sites are available year round for prescription drug returns.

“The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office would encourage everyone to remove unneeded prescription medications from their homes," Short said. "Safe disposal of unused prescription medications is the best way to safeguard children from accidental overdose as well as preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from starting.”

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in homes are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses from these drugs.

“All Montanans can help stop the epidemic of drug overdoses and those that lead to death, especially from opioids, by safely disposing of unused or expired prescription drugs in their homes. Participating in DEA’s Drug Take Back Day is an easy way to clean out the medicine cabinet and prevent these drugs from being abused. I urge everyone to help make their communities safer,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

“Prevention of drug misuse starts at home. For over a decade DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has provided our community a safe and easy way to get rid of unnecessary medications,” said DEA Montana Resident Agent in Charge Cesar Avila. “This past fall we collected more than 1,100 pounds of unneeded medications throughout Montana, and, with your help, we hope to collect even more this Saturday.”

Numerous sheriff’s offices, police departments and federal agencies across Montana are participating in Take Back Day. Information about collection sites and more information about event is available here: https://takebackday.dea.gov/

During the last Take Back Day held on Oct. 28, 2023, 4,383 law enforcement participants at 4,675 collection sites across the country brought in a total weight of 599,897 pounds, or 300 tons, of drugs. This brings the total weight collected to 17.9 million pounds, or more than 8,950 tons, of prescription drugs collected in the history of the program. Collection results may include materials other than prescription drugs.

During the October 2023 event, Montanans turned in 1,109 pounds of prescription drugs at 21 collection sites. Nineteen law enforcement agencies participated. Total all time weight collected in Montana is 54,554 pounds.

In addition to DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day on April 27, prescription drugs can be disposed of any day throughout the year at any of the 11,000 authorized collectors. For more information on collection sites, visit: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 27 Take Back Day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com.