Help Missoula Fight Drug Abuse On Take Back Day!

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and Montana’s U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich reached out to me on Thursday to encourage all Missoula County residents to take part.

“We in conjunction with the DEA work on this National Prescription Drug Take Back Day a few times a year and the next one is coming up this Saturday, April 27, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. where we'll have sites throughout Montana,” began Laslovich. “People can click here to look at the site where they can drop off unnecessary and unused prescription drugs.”

This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Laslovich said Montana put up some impressive numbers in 2023 for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

“Just last year in Montana, over 1,100 pounds of prescription drugs were collected at 21 sites across the state,” he said. Looking at the entire history of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Days, Laslovich had another big number. “That total weight was almost 55,000 pounds in Montana through all the times that we've been doing this.”

17.9 Million Pounds of Prescription Drugs have been Collected Nationally

Nationally, Laslovich said the numbers are staggering for those who have voluntarily brought in unused or expired prescription drugs.

“17.9 million pounds during this time has been collected,” he said. “We know that there's so much more to be collected where people are unaware of this, which is why I really appreciate being able to relay this to your listeners. Those pills just sit in the in the medicine cabinet, so the more we get, the better, and that'll help with this drug addiction epidemic that we're dealing with not just in Montana, but throughout the country.”

There are Locations that Accept Unused or Expire Drugs at Any Time

Laslovich said Missoula residents can bring unused or expired prescription drugs to the Missoula Police Department or the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office at any time.

I spoke with Granite Pharmacy and the Curry Health Center Pharmacy at the University of Montana who said they are NOT participating on Saturday; however, they do accept unused and expired prescriptions during their normal business hours.

Both Missoula hospitals also accept unused and expired prescriptions at any time.