IOWA - Final numbers from last month's national Drug Take Back Day show Iowa collected about 45 percent of the drugs in a five-state region.
Almost seventeen-thousand pounds were collected in the state during the spring take back day that takes place annually. The five state Omaha Division combined for almost thirty-eight-thousand pounds.
About seventy police and sheriff's departments in Iowa joined thousands across the country to take part in the program that's organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Drug Take Back Day is billed as a safe and anonymous way for people to get rid of unused, unwanted and expired prescription medications.
“It also gives us the chance to educate people on the potential dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription medications," said Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King. "These are important messages that we want to make people aware of in our communities.”
There were 93 collection sites for Drug Take Back Day on April 24th in Iowa. DEA reminds the community that every day is Take Back Day with more than 11,000 year-round authorized collection sites across the country.