10,000 pounds of unnecessary prescription drugs collected in KY
More than 10,000 pounds of unnecessary prescription drugs in Kentucky were properly disposed of on National Prescription Drug Recovery Day on April 30, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Communities across the country collectively dumped more than 720,000 pounds of unnecessary medicine at 5,144 collection sites across the country on April 30, according to the DEA. More than 28,000 unnecessary prescription books were collected in the Louisville Division, which covers Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Tennessee collected the most with 12,384.55 pounds.
“I want to thank everyone in the Louisville Division who supported the DEA’s prescription drug recovery effort by safely disposing of their expired and unneeded medications,” said Todd Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA. Louisville Division of the DEA, in a press release. “At a time when drug overdose deaths in the United States are at record numbers, anything we do to make our communities safer can make a difference.”
Since 2010, the DEA, along with its law enforcement partners, has collected nearly 16 million pounds of unnecessary prescription drugs.
“National Prescription Drug Recovery Day is an important part of the DEA’s efforts to combat the overdose epidemic and save lives,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a press release. . “I encourage everyone across the country to get rid of unnecessary medications throughout the year to help keep our communities safe and healthy.”