Tewksbury PD Hosting Prescription Drug Take Back This Weekend

TEWKSBURY, MA — The Tewksbury Police Department will be hosting a Prescription Drug Take Back event Saturday, allowing the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

The initiative is designed to remove medications from homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.

From 10 a.m. to noon at the Tewksbury Police Department Headquarters, located at 918 Main St., anyone can bring their medications for disposal.

"The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked," the Tewksbury PD said in a statement.

The collection event is part of Take Back Day, a national event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

"Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs," the Tewksbury PD said in a statement.

The Tewksbury PD continued: "Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines —flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — both pose potential safety and health hazards."

Residents who are dropping off items on Saturday are asked to remove pills from the prescription bottles and seal them in a plastic Ziploc bag before arriving at the police station.

Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container with the cap sealed tightly to avoid leaking.

Finally, the Tewksbury PD reminds residents that no sharps are allowed at the disposal event. More information about where to dispose of sharps is available by contacting the Board of Health at 978-640-4473.

According to the DEA, 4,340 law enforcement agencies participated in the last National Take Back Day in October 2022, and there were a total of 4,902 collection sites.

The DEA said that the total amount of prescription drugs collected last October equaled 647,163 pounds, or 324 tons.

Since the Take Back program began in 2010, a total of 16.6 million pounds, or 8,318 tons, of prescription drugs have been collected, according to the DEA.