Sixty-one pounds of prescription medication were turned in last weekend in South Lake Tahoe. This is the most collected in the since this program was started.

On April 27 the South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration provided the public its sixth opportunity in three years to take back unwanted prescription drugs and collected

Northern California and Central Valley residents turned in 18 tons of unwanted and expired medications at 211 collection sites manned by 147 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that partnered with DEA on the event. Nearly 68 tons has been collected from the Central Valley and Northern California since September 2010.

According to the DEA, the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this past Saturday collected 50 percent more pills than the previous one, demonstrating the American public’s continued appreciation and need for the opportunity to discard unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs from medicine cabinets, bedside tables, and kitchen drawers.

Nationally, 742,497 pounds of prescription medication were collected and destroyed.