Event coordinated with DEA
The Sarasota Police Department and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office will partner with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., to provide community residents an opportunity “to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs,” the agencies have announced.
“It’s all part of the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day,” a Saraosta Police Department (SPD) news release points out.
Additionally, SPD will partner with the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County (DOH-Sarasota), Jewish Family Community Services, the Compeer Program at First Step, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Sarasota and Manatee Counties during the event, the release says. Representatives of those community organizations will be at the SPD headquarters in downtown Sarasota on April 30, providing information to residents, the release notes.
The drug dropbox in the lobby of the Sarasota Police Department is available daily year-round, the release continues. However, members of the public are encouraged to bring unused, expired, or unwanted prescription drugs to the Sarasota Police Department Headquarters, located at 2099 Adams Lane in Sarasota, to take part in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 30, the release says.
Drop-off sites can collect tablets, capsules, and other solid forms of prescription drugs, the release points out. “Sites cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps,” the release stresses. “The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked.”
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office also has a permanent drop box at its headquarters, located at 6010 Cattleridge Blvd. in Sarasota, the release adds. That is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
“Medicines in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse,” the release points out. “Unused, expired, or unwanted prescription medications are a public safety issue and can lead to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Prescription drugs that are unused and flushed can contaminate water supplies. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment,” the release adds.
To find the drop-off location closest to you, visit www.DEATakeBack.com.