U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme will join the Drug Enforcement Administration in support of the 19th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 24.
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.
To keep everyone safe, collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.
"Getting rid of unneeded and expired prescription drugs is an important step Montanans can take to stop opioid abuse and addiction. The primary way opioid abusers first get pills is from family and friends. The DEA Take Back event is a great way to safely clean out medicine cabinets," U.S. Attorney Alme said.
"We encourage all Montanans to drop off their unused prescriptions to the National Take Back sites in their communities. Individuals can drive up and drop off their prescriptions without getting out of their cars," said DEA Montana Resident Agent in Charge Stacy Zinn-Brittain.
Last fall, Americans across the country turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners.
During the October 2019 event, Montanans turned in 1,720 pounds of prescription drugs at 26 collection sites.
In Helena, the collection sites are at the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office and the Albertson's parking lot off Montana Avenue.
In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long. For more information, visit DEA’s year-round collection site locator.
