Last year in King County, there were nearly 150 overdose deaths involving prescription drugs and the number of these types of overdoses has been increasing over the past five years. That is one reason law enforcement agencies across the area partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to collect unused and expired prescription drugs on Saturday for Drug Take Back Day, which the DEA holds twice a year. “Prescription drugs most definitely can cause addiction and overdose,” said Heather McMurry, the diversion program Manager for the DEA’s Seattle office. “Nationwide about 24% of overdose poisoning deaths are from prescription controlled substances.” She said some people now addicted to fentanyl were first addicted to prescription drugs they could no longer get a hold of. The number of overdose deaths involving prescription drugs have increased 39% since 2019, according to the Public Health – Seattle & King County. READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/washington-law-enforcement-agencies-dea-drug-take-back-day/281-46afa261-5cd2-4b6b-a01b-ff0698bdc2ee