U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Resident Agent in Charge Suzan Williamson jointly announced this week that as a result of the Oct. 26 Prescription Drug Take-Back event, a total of 4,976 pounds of unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs were collected from citizens and households across West Virginia. The Oct. 26 collection results surpassed the previous Take-Back record of 4,642 pounds of prescription drugs collected in April 2013.
U.S. Attorney Goodwin said, “Having back-to-back record totals in the same year is remarkable. West Virginians have yet again responded overwhelmingly in our ongoing fight against prescription drug abuse. We’ve worked hard over the past several years to make our Take-Back initiative a success. My thanks to the DEA, state and local police, and all the West Virginians who made this result possible.”
Suzan Williamson, DEA resident agent in charge for West Virginia, said, “When people take unwanted and expired prescriptions out of their homes and dispose of them properly, it immeasurably helps our fight against prescription drug abuse. I commend all of the federal, state and local partners in West Virginia for their assistance, which has made this seventh Take-Back a success.”
The October Take-Back designated more than 130 sites throughout West Virginia, providing citizens with numerous locations to drop off expired, unused and unwanted medications. Nationwide, more than 5,100 sites participated.
In the six previous Take-Back events, the Drug Enforcement Administration, working jointly with other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners have collected more than 2 million pounds (1,409 tons) of prescription medications nationwide.
