Unique Drug Take-back Program Connects Positively with Massachusetts Community

The improper disposal of unused drugs can harm the environment and living beings. Removing unwanted, unused, and expired drugs from homes is critical to reducing abuse and accidental poisonings. A unique approach to the drug take-back strategy called the Knock, Talk and Toss (KTT) was developed by the Framingham Police Department (FPD) and Framingham Housing Authority (FHA) and JSI for the housing authority of an ethnically diverse city.

The KTT program is a collaborative effort between public safety, public health, and housing, where police go door-to-door in areas with a higher concentration of families and elderly. They help take unused drugs out of circulation, while also enabling the police to have a positive presence in the community.

Among the program staff, there was a consensus that the KTT offered opportunities for their staff to positively connect with residents. Regardless whether the respondent discarded drugs, residents were thankful that the FPD was implementing this initiative.

The results of this program were recently published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice by JSI staff, Tamara Calise and Chloe Wingerter, along with Sarah Levin Martin from the University of Maine at Farmington, ME.

Read more about the Knock, Talk and Toss (KTT).