Local News
Drug Take Back Campaign Successful
Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County (DFC) is reporting that the Fall Prescription Drug Take Back campaign that took place back in October was a huge success, both in Fond du Lac County and across the state. The Campaign coincided with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 19th National Prescription Take Back Day. The campaign brought in almost a million (985,392) pounds of unused, expired and unwanted medications, which is the largest amount ever collected in the program’s ten years.
Wisconsin leads the Nation with the greatest number of pounds collected and law enforcement participation compared to any other state. Wisconsin disposed of 89,982 pounds of medication and had 270 law enforcement agencies participate. Fond du Lac County collected and disposed of 2,558 pounds of unused or expired medications, roughly half of what was collected in 2019. SSM Health collected the most pounds of medications and the City of Fond du Lac Police Department had the second largest collection.
“This is a success for our communities. It’s too easy for youth and others to obtain medications for misuse from their own homes. In Fond du Lac County, over 50% of youth who misused medications got them from their home/medicine cabinets or parents. These efforts help decrease youth obtaining prescription medications for misuse from their homes,” commented Alex Berg, DFC.
DFC wants to ensure that the public is aware of other ways they can dispose of unwanted prescription drugs without having to leave their homes, such as the Deterra Drug Deactivation pouches. Resources and drug drop locations can be found at: https://www.csifdl.org/priorities/alcohol-drug-abuse/prescription-drug-misuse/.
The opioid epidemic continues to impact families in Fond du Lac County and across Wisconsin. Join DFC and the community in taking steps to help fight diversion and addiction through properly disposing of unused medications at drug drop boxes, securing medications in your home and getting involved. For more information, call Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County at (920) 906-6573 or visit www.csifdl/dfc.