Individuals may dispose of unwanted medications at Police Department headquarters and at Caring Collective between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Sarasota Police Department will partner with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for the 29th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, City of Sarasota staff has announced.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office also will be a participant in the event, its staff has reported. That agency has a permanent drop box located in the lobby of its headquarters, which stands at 6010 Cattleridge Road in Sarasota, a news release says. The lobby is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., daily, the release points out. “Several other local law enforcement agencies also have permanent drop boxes and will be participating in the event,” the Sheriff’s Office notes, as well, in its release.
The Oct. 25 event will give members of the public “a safe, anonymous way to dispose of unneeded medications, including pills, capsules, patches and other solid prescription drugs,” the Police Department news release explains. “For 16 years, Take Back Day has helped prevent prescription drug misuse and accidental poisonings by keeping medications out of the wrong hands and away from our waterways,” the release points out.
An individual may drop off items at two Sarasota locations, the Police Department says:
- Sarasota Police Department Headquarters, which stands at 2099 Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota.
- Caring Collective, which is located at 1750 17th St.
Thanks to events such as this, law enforcement officers and the DEA “have collected more than 19.8 million pounds of medications nationwide,” the release points out. “That’s nearly 10,000 tons safely removed from homes,” the Police Department release notes.
The release does stress that “collection sites cannot accept syringes, sharps or illegal drugs.” Further, it says, “Liquids such as cough syrup must remain in their original containers with the caps tightly sealed.”
Any person unable to make it to one of the above locations can find other nearby drop-off sites by visiting DEATakeBack.com, the release points out.
“The Sarasota Police Department also has a secure drug disposal box available for public use,” the release adds. “The program allows residents to anonymously dispose of unused, unwanted or expired prescription medications.” The drug disposal box stands in the lobby of the Sarasota Police Department Headquarters, which is located at 2099 Adams Lane and is accessible every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the release notes.