PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Division announced today that 51,461 pounds of prescription drugs were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware during the DEA Philadelphia Division’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event this past Saturday, April 30th.
This amount is more than double than what was collected during the DEA’s last Take-Back event in September 2015, when 23,222 pounds were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware.
In the Pittsburgh area, where the DEA implemented its 360 Strategy in November 2015, 12,675 pounds were collected. This innovative strategy focuses on partnerships with and education of community-based organizations, health care professionals, and law enforcement partners about the link between prescription opioid abuse and heroin abuse - an epidemic that has had deadly consequences across the region.
A specific breakdown of amounts collected by regions across Pennsylvania, where a total of 43,778 pounds was collected, and Delaware, where a total of 7,684 pounds was collected, is listed below:
For more information about the Take-Back event or the 360 Strategy, please contact DEA Public Information Officer/Special Agent Patrick J. Trainor at (215) 852-8740 or patrick.j.trainor@usdoj.gov.
