WASHINGTON – On October 29, 2022, communities across the country demonstrated their continued support for DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day by safely disposing of more than 647,000 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country. Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s National Prescription...

PHILADELPHIA –Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Thomas Hodnett of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today that approximately 37,492 pounds of prescription drugs were collected across Pennsylvania and Delaware by the DEA and its partners during the Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event on April 30, 2022. A...

PHILADELPHIA – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This bi-annual event offers free, anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. “Disposing of unneeded medications can help...

PHILADELPHIA – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is launching its second year of Operation Engage, a comprehensive community-level approach to address the drug epidemic through prevention strategies, facilitating conversations and collaboration with local partners. The Philadelphia Field Division’s proposal was one of 11 approved for continued funding for 2022...

PHILADELPHIA - Staff from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field (PFD) distributed approximately 60 winter coats to the students of the Potter-Thomas Elementary School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Investigative (IA) Paula Martinez has organized this coat drive, as well as Red Ribbon Week activities, at the Potter-Thomas school for the past...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today that the DEA will host a Prescription Drug Awareness (PDAC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of the DEA’s ongoing 360 Strategy to address prescription opioid and heroin abuse in Western Pennsylvania. The...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today the publication of a statewide Drug Overdose Assessment for Pennsylvania. The report, entitled “Analysis of Drug-Related Overdose Deaths in Pennsylvania, 2014,” is the first comprehensive assessment of deaths caused by drugs for...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Philadelphia Field Division announced today that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will be the first city in the nation where the DEA will implement a new comprehensive strategy to address prescription opioid abuse, heroin use, and violent crime. A news...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in (SAC) Gary Tuggle of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division was invited to speak with undergraduate students enrolled in a Comparative Politics course at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. These students have elected to spend their semester learning about the war on drugs and alternative approaches...

PHILADELPHIA - Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle announced today that the Jim Thorpe Police (JTPD) and the Lehighton Borough Police (LBPD) requested the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’(DEA) Allentown Resident Office with an operation that targeted heroin traffickers operating in Jim Thorpe. On September 26th and September 28th...