Mississippians took in over five thousand pounds of drugs during the most recent Drug Take Back Day that was held on Saturday, October 27th.
There were over 40 drop off locations available off the state and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director John Dowdy said they eclipsed the number of opioids taken in during the Spring of 2018 when just over 4,000 pounds were collected.
“We had a record-setting day with the prescription drug take back,” said Dowdy. “We collect 5,099 pounds of unused pharmaceutical drugs from across the state. This was a significant event for us getting a lot of unused drugs off our streets and that’s just that many more drugs that are not available for diversion.”
Dowdy added that if Mississippians missed the take back day, they are still able to turn in their unused pharmaceuticals at drug drop box locations across the state.
“You think about 5,099 pounds of pharmaceutical drugs and then you think about how much just one pill weighs… That is a substantial amount of narcotics taken off the street,” Dowdy said.
