JACKSON, Wyo. — On Oct. 24, the Jackson Police Department (JPD) collected 37.9 pounds of drugs for destruction on Drug Take Back Day.
Each year, Jackson Hole sees two Drug Take Back Day events, one in the spring and one in the fall. According to Roy Mann, evidence technician for the JPD who oversees these events, in the last eight events the average collection has been about 36 pounds.
Mann tells Buckrail that since the JPD has partnered with the Teton County Health Department (TCHD), Drug Take Back Days are much more successful than they used to be. Mann credits TCHD with helping to promote the event and educating people around drug take backs.
Mann says prior to 2021, when JPD and TCHD came together, JPD were lucky to get five pounds of drugs for destruction from a single event.
In the six-month periods between the annual spring and fall Drug Take Back Days, JPD is also seeing at least 36 pounds of drugs collected and sometimes slightly more that that courtesy of the drop box available five days a week in Town Hall.
“That tells us that we’re making a difference,” Mann says. “It’s really come a long way.”
For Drug Take Back Days, the Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) typically picks up the drugs collected and takes them to their facility for destruction.
