OMAHA, Nebraska - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration collected 882,919 pounds of unwanted, unused and expired prescription medication and vaping cartridges at the 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 26th.
The DEA Omaha Division accounted for 22,067 pounds collected from sites in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
In Nebraska, residents threw out 4,390 pounds of medications and vaping cartridges.
“The DEA wishes to thank all of our local, tribal, state and federal law enforcement partners who helped make this Take Back event successful,” Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter Jr. said. “Collectively, we removed over 22,000 pounds of powerfully addictive and potentially deadly medications from falling into the wrong hands.”
This was the first time the DEA accepted vaping devises and cartridges. With hundreds of confirmed lung injuries and dozens of deaths attributed to vaping, DEA is working to spread the word about the dangers.
The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is April 25, 2020.