Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief 

mvk5945@psu.edu

In the United States the current drug overdose epidemic is a threat to both public health and public safety. Prescription drugs are one of the most abused categories of drugs in society, often acting as a gateway to harder substances. 

On Oct. 29, Erie police stationed themselves in the lobby of City Hall to post an event for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. According to Erie police, Pennsylvania has an estimated 14 drug overdoses per, which can often be linked back to previous prescription drug usage. 

Erie police hold this event twice a year in coordination with the two annual National Take Back Days in order to combat the misuse of prescription drugs and aid in the fight against addiction. The Drug Enforcement Administration, otherwise referred to as the DEA, hosts National Prescription Take Back Days on the last Saturday of October and April each year. Many other counties nationwide participate in this event. 

Not only does this event remove prescription drugs from the home, keeping them away from those who may suffer from addiction or children who may accidentally find them in the cabinets, but it also encourages the proper disposal of these medications. Many people simply have expired prescription drugs that end up resting in their medicine cabinets for entirely too long. 

Prescription drugs that are thrown into the trash could be retrieved by someone who will abuse them, or be illegally resold. Drugs that get washed down the toilet can even contaminate the water supply. 

“DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting,” reads the DEA’s website. “DEA is committed to making our communities safer and healthier, and we can do this by reducing overdoses and overdose deaths. While the community does its part to turn in unneeded medications and remove them from potential harm, we are doing our part to further reduce drug-related violence.” 

The Erie Police participate in this event both times a year it is scheduled, and residents can go to the DEA’s website to locate prescription drug drop-off locations for disposal if needed in between these times. 

When speaking about the event, Lt. Jamie Russo of the City of Erie Police stated, “[T]throughout my years, speaking to individuals, the next step is opiates. You see people progress into harsher drugs, which may lead to overdoses. They’re readily available in people’s homes. Sometimes elderly or parents don’t think about what’s in their medicine cabinets.”