Clear Your Medicine Cabinets of Unwanted Drugs
Do you have medications in your home that have expired or that you no longer need? Drop them off at 44 locations as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and law enforcement officers will safely dispose of those medications for you.
Locally, the collection will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 at various locations throughout the county, including 15 San Diego County facilities or Sheriff-hosted parking lot locations. This service is free and anonymous. No sharps or needles are accepted.
Led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Diego office, law enforcement officials representing the San Diego County Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force spoke Tuesday morning at the DEA’s Kearny Mesa office about why getting unneeded medications out of homes is important to preventing the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.
Any stored medications are susceptible to being stolen by strangers or possibly young family members and often may even go unnoticed if it is not used regularly. In 2012, 30 percent of incarcerated youth indicated they obtained prescription drugs by stealing from family, friends and acquaintances in a study conducted by the San Diego Association of Governments.
Among the 44 locations participating Saturday are these San Diego County locations:
- San Diego County Juvenile Hall, 2801 Meadow Lark Drive, San Diego.
- San Diego District Attorney’s Office (Hall of Justice), 330 W. Broadway, downtown San Diego.
- Alpine Sheriff’s Station, 2751 Alpine Blvd.
- Sheriff deputies at Scripps Hospital, 354 Santa Fe Drive, Encinitas
- Fallbrook Sheriff’s Substation, 388 East Alvarado St.
- Imperial Beach Sheriff’s Substation, 845 Imperial Beach Blvd.
- Sheriff’s deputies at Walgreens parking lot, 9728 Winter Gardens Blvd., Lakeside
- Lemon Grove Sheriff’s Substation, 3240 Main St.
- Poway Sheriff’s Station, 13100 Bowron Road
- Sheriff’s deputies at Albertson’s parking lot, 1459 Main Street, Ramona
- Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s Station, 11486 Campo Road
- Sheriff’s deputies at Kaiser Permanente, 400 Craven Road, San Marcos
- Sheriff’s deputies at Walgreens parking lot, 9305 Mission Gorge Road, Santee
- Sheriff’s deputies at Walgreens parking lot, 310 Sycamore Ave., Vista
- Julian Sheriff’s Substation, 2907 Washington St.
Throwing old medications in the trash or flushing pills down a toilet can have negative impacts on water quality and public health. The best way to safely dispose of prescription drugs and be sure they will be destroyed properly is to drop them off with law enforcement.
If you are unable to drop off medications on Saturday, San Diego County has numerous year-round prescription drug collection locations that are open during regular business hours.