Drug Take Back Day – April 27th
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Saturday April, 27th is National Drug Take Back Day. The Take Back Day is part of the DEA’s National Take Back Initiative to safely dispose of unwanted medications. There are opportunities to dispose of your unwanted medications in East Haddam, East Hampton and Colchester. Studies have shown that drug abuse often starts with family members having access to unused opioids, inadvertently left in the family’s medicine cabinet. Please check your medicine storage areas to see if there are any unused or no longer necessary medications and avail yourself of this opportunity for safe disposal.
Drug take back day continues to grow, nationwide during the 16th take back day 4,770 police departments participated offering 5,839 sites with over 457 tons collected for proper disposal. Read more HERE.
Saturday, April 27th
10am – 2pm
Senior Center, 15 Great Hillwood Road
Medication Drop Box
Police Department, 20 East High Street
Medication Drop Boxes
Resident Trooper, 127 Norwich Avenue
State Police Troop K, 15a Old Hartford Road
Drug collection boxes are available across the state year-round. Find a full list of locations HERE.
**The service is free and anonymous, no questions will be asked**
No needles or sharps will be accepted.
Examples of sharps include:
- Needles – hollow needles used to inject drugs (medication) under the skin
- Syringes – devices used to inject medication into or withdraw fluid from the body
- Lancets, also called “fingerstick” devices – instruments with a short, two-edged blade used to get drops of blood for testing. Lancets are commonly used in the treatment of diabetes.
- Auto Injectors, including epinephrine and insulin pens – syringes pre-filled with fluid medication designed to be self-injected into the body
- Infusion sets – tubing systems with a needle used to deliver drugs to the body.
- Connection needles/sets – needles that connect to a tube used to transfer fluids in and out of the body. This is generally used for patients on home hemodialysis.
Connecticut continues to work on combating drug addiction and the opioid crisis. Governor Ned Lamont, the Department of Public Health (DPH), and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) recently launched “LiveLOUD – Live Life with Opioid Use Disorder” statewide awareness campaign, as well as the new Naloxone and Overdose Response (NORA) smartphone app.
For more information:
- On the LiveLOUD campaign, visit www.liveloud.org
- On the NORA app, visit www.norasaves.com
Last year, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) reported that there were 1,017 deaths in Connecticut due to accidental overdose, 93 percent of which were opioid-related.
Please consider sharing this information with anyone you feel may benefit.
Best Regards,
Irene Haines – 34th District
As always, if you have questions or concerns about state government please do not hesitate to contact me at Irene.Haines@housegop.ct.gov or 1-800-842-1423