More than 1,200 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs were collected last weekend across Hampshire and Franklin counties under a program sponsored by the Northwestern district attorney’s office as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Between Franklin and Hampshire counties, 1,232 pounds of medication were collected, according to the district attorney’s office.
Residents of Amherst, Belchertown, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, Northampton, Southampton and Williamsburg turned in 921 pounds, while people who live in Ashfield, Deerfield, Greenfield, Leverett and Sunderland turned in 311 pounds of unwanted medications.
Everything from aspirin to OxyContin was collected, Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said Monday.
“This is an important step in fighting the opioid crisis by keeping drugs out of circulation and from being misused,” he said in a statement.
The national event was started in October 2010 by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The Northwestern district attorney’s office joined in the effort in 2011. The drug take-back events occur twice a year, although many local police departments have secure collection boxes available for year-round collection.
Most people who misuse prescription drugs get them from friends and family, sometimes without their knowledge, according to the district attorney’s office.
The drugs will be incinerated, according to Environmental Protection Agency standards, Sullivan said.
More than 21 tons of prescription drugs have been collected either through take-back days or permanent collection boxes in the two counties since 2011, according to the district attorney’s office.