More than 10,000 pounds of drugs collected in Bucks County

Bucks County officials announced that the community successfully collected more than 10,000 pounds of unused, unwanted, or expired medications and sharps during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day held late last month.

According to the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, the county-wide collection saw law enforcement officers gather 9,954.58 pounds of medications, including vaping products, and 639.15 pounds of sharps at 46 public sites. 

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day locations included police headquarters, businesses, libraries, fire departments, hospitals, and municipal buildings.

Since the program’s inception in 2010, Bucks County has collected and incinerated a total of 230,969.50 pounds of medications, officials said. 

Officials pointed to the availability of the opioid reversal medication naloxone, which was provided at fourteen of the collection sites. 

The overdose reversal kits, which can save lives, are part of an ongoing effort to combat opioid overdoses in every municipality in Bucks County. 

“It is important to follow safe practices with all medications. This includes storing medications properly, taking medications only as prescribed, not sharing with others, and safely disposing of both prescribed and over-the-counter medications in a local medication drop box or at a take back collection event,” according to the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission.

Statewide since 2015, more than 1.4 million, or 700 tons, of prescription medication have been destroyed across the 67 counties, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

According to data from the Bucks County Coroner’s Office, 136 people in the county died of drug-related causes in 2023. Six of those deaths were ruled suicides. 

For more information about how Bucks County residents can obtain naloxone at no cost, please contact Mallory Perrotti at [email protected], 215-444-2785) or visit bcdac.org.