Event allows for anonymous disposal of unwanted, unused and expired medications, with no questions asked
The Sarasota Police Department and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office will partner with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, the agency has announced.
The event will enable members of the community “to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs,” a Police Department news release points out. “While the drop-box in the lobby of the Sarasota Police Department is available year-round, residents are encouraged to bring expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for part of the National Take-Back Day on October 26 to one of the following locations,” the release adds:
- Sarasota Police Department Headquarters — 2099 Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota (34237).
- The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center, standing at 1750 17th St. in Sarasota; Building. J-1 (34234).
The DEA National Take-Back Day is a free and anonymous event, the release adds, with “no questions asked.”
Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release, it has a permanent drop box located at its headquarters, which stands at 6010 Cattleridge Blvd. in Sarasota; that drop box is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily.
“This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue,” the Police Department release notes. “Medicines in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.” The availability of unused or expired prescription medications can lead to accidental poisonings, overdoses, and abuses, the release continues. “Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved, abused, or illegally sold. Proper disposal of unused drugs can save lives and protect the environment. Prescription drugs unused and flushed can contaminate water supplies,” the release explains.
“Officers will only collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs,” the release stresses.
During the last National Take-Back Day in April, the DEA collected 335 tons (670,136 pounds) of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications nationwide, the release says.
Learn more about the event at www.deatakeback.com or by calling 800-882-9539.