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Pennsylvania hosts Drug Take-Back Day in 67 counties

HERSHEY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration hosted its 13th...

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Pennsylvania State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration hosted its 13th Drug Take-Back Day in the past seven years on Saturday.

Governor Tom Wolf and Penn State Hershey Medical Center joined together alongside local authorities to recognize the day in Derry Township.

Their goal was to educate the public on the proper ways to dispose of unused prescription drugs in order to make sure they don't get in the wrong hands.

Prescription drug take back boxes were made available and expired or unwanted prescription drugs were safely dropped off across the Commonwealth.

"When you drop off through the drive through, there's always a story," said Dominic Johnson, Diversion Investigator for the DEA. "Some prescriptions are from parents, some are from a lost relative, victim of a crime or suffering from an illness, so there are many different reasons and they all vary... but one thing they all have in common is they want to drop it off at a location they know it will be disposed of properly."

Johnson said another goal was to educate the public about the potential abuse of prescription drugs.

There were a total of 85 locations across all 67 counties.

More than 300 pounds of drugs were collected at the Hershey location alone.

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