WASHINGTON –
The District of Columbia National Guard (DCNG) Counterdrug Program partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for Prescription Take Back Day on October 26, 2024, at multiple locations across Washington, D.C.
“National Prescription Take Back Day is the DEA’s largest community outreach event that we put on twice a year, every April and October,” said Brittany Potter, DEA Agent. “One of the leading ways that we’ve seen, especially among children and youth, getting into doing drugs is by taking medications that might be just lying around in the medicine cabinet or laying around their house. We want to get those drugs out of the community and let them be disposed of in a safe way.”
Take Back Day, organized by the DEA, aims to encourage the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes, reducing the risk of medication misuse and preventing opioid addiction before it begins. The DCNG Counterdrug Program’s Soldiers and Airmen joined Metropolitan Police Department officials to set up drop-off points where residents could safely dispose of unwanted prescription drugs.
“Take Back Day is a way for the metropolitan police department to engage the community,” said Vera Worsley, evidence technician for the Metropolitan Police Department. “It’s opportunity to let the community know we are more than just arrests; we are here to integrate and to provide services that you didn’t think would happen in your neighborhood.”
The DCNG Counterdrug Program not only participates in Take Back Day but also collaborates with local authorities. The program operates through three key pillars: supporting community education on drug prevention, assisting in criminal intelligence and information sharing, and working alongside local authorities to reduce access to illicit drugs.
For the DCNG Counterdrug Demand Reduction Outreach section events like Take Back Day helps continue to foster healthy, drug-free environments through collaborative community initiatives with local authorities such as the Metropolitan Police Department.