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Montgomery County district attorney urges residents to use drug take-back sites as overdose deaths climb
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Summary
District Attorney Kevin Steele urged residents to bring unwanted medications to county take-back locations this weekend, citing recent collection totals (6,853 pounds in April; 6,532 pounds last October) and long-term overdose trends including fentanyl and rising stimulant-involved deaths.
District Attorney Kevin Steele urged Montgomery County residents on April 23 to use county drug take-back sites as a key way to reduce accidental poisonings and illegal diversion.
Steele, presenting the county’s take-back initiative, said collection totals are substantial — “6,532 pounds” at last October’s event and “6,853 pounds” in April — and that the program has removed “over 144,000 pounds” of unused medication since the program began in 2010. The events will be staffed at 38 police departments countywide, with additional tables at several grocery stores, Steele said, and residents can drop off tablets, inhalers, vaping products, creams, ointments and nasal sprays; liquids and sharps are not accepted for safety reasons.
Why it matters: Steele framed the take-back events as one practical prevention step amid rising overdose deaths. He emphasized fentanyl remains a principal driver while noting a recent uptick in methamphetamine, cocaine and mixed-substance overdoses — trends that complicate response because naloxone does not reverse stimulant overdoses.
Steele described the program logistics and safety steps: officers will accept sealed medicine containers or bags and transport them to a federally licensed medical-waste facility for destruction. He encouraged residents who cannot attend the weekend event to use the permanent collection boxes inside police departments, available outside normal hours at some locations.
Asked about demographics, Steele said the overdose problem affects people “all over the place” and that no single age or race dominates the county’s overdose counts. He also noted coroner counts were still pending for some cases.
The county’s approach: Steele called for continued partnership among law enforcement, public-health agencies and community groups and stressed safe disposal as one element of a broader prevention and treatment strategy. He closed by inviting questions and reminding county staff that posters advertising the event were available for county offices.
Next steps: The district attorney’s office and participating police departments will staff the take-back collection on the announced weekend; the county website lists locations and the prosecutor’s office will leave informational posters at the commissioners’ desk.
