Levittown Community Action Coalition (LCAC) recognizes the ongoing drug overdose epidemic across the nation as a crucial public health and safety issue. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs and a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.1 To combat this alarming and dynamic problem within the Levittown community, LCAC hosted a Drug Take Back event on Saturday, April 29th at Wisdom Lane Middle School. This event was held in observance of the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to encourage the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting.
LCAC partnered with the Nassau County Police Department’s 8th Precinct, YES Community Counseling Center, the Hispanic Alliance for Prevention, and the Hispanic Counseling Center to deliver this necessary service to the community. The spring event was sponsored by Legislator McKevitt, Legislator Ferretti, Legislator Giangregorio, and Senator Rhoads.
Levittown’s Take Back event fell on a particularly rainy and windy day – yet, members of the coalition braved the bad weather to continue offering a safe and central location for community members to dispose of their expired or unused medications. The event was a huge success, collecting 265 lbs of medication from the surrounding community and sharing additional resources for the prevention of substance misuse with over 100 families in the Levittown area.
Another Take Back event will take place in October. Community members are encouraged to check LCAC’s events calendar for the date and location as the fall approaches. For more information on where to dispose of unused or expired prescription medication prior to October, please see the DEA's Website or our Drug Take Back Events page.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables Prevalence Estimates, Standard Errors, P Values, and Sample Sizes [Internet]. [Accessed 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHDetailedTabs2018R2/NSDUHDetailedTabs2018.htm