Prescription Drug Take Back Day Set for Sept. 26 (VIDEO)

On Saturday, September 26  Montgomery County law enforcement agencies, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will give residents an opportunity to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your unused medications for disposal to any one of the drop-off locations in Montgomery County between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. No liquids or syringes will be accepted. The service is free and anonymous.

Drop-off locations in Montgomery County:

Chevy Chase Village Police Drug Take Back Location
5906 Connecticut Ave, Chevy Chase

Gaithersburg City Police Take Back Location
14 Fulks Corner, Gaithersburg

Maryland State Police
7915 Montrose Rd, Rockville

Montgomery County Police Drug Take-Back Locations 
1st District/Headquarter (Rockville) Station – 100 Edison Park Drive, Gaithersburg
2nd District (Bethesda) Friendship Heights Community Center – 4433 S Park Avenue, Chevy Chase
3rd District (Silver Spring) Station – 1002 Milestone Drive, Silver Spring
4th District (Wheaton) Station – 2300 Randolph Road, Wheaton
5th District (Germantown) Station – 20000 Aircraft Drive, Germantown
6th District (Montgomery Village) Station – 45 West Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg

Rockville City Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Drug Take Back Location
Rockville City Police Building Lobby – 2 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville

Takoma Park Police Drug Take Back Location
Takoma Park Community Center Lobby – 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park

The Montgomery County law enforcement community is particularly interested in medications containing controlled substances but will accept any medications brought for disposal. All sites will take pills and medication patches of all kinds. If possible, prescription labels should be removed or personal information should be blacked out; however, pill bottles will still be accepted if the labels are attached. No questions will be asked. This is an opportunity to safely empty out a medicine cabinet of drugs that are no longer needed.

Disposing of drugs through a drug take-back day is the safest option. If it is safe to dispose of a drug by flushing it down a toilet, the drug label or prescription information will indicate that option is an appropriate means of disposal. Otherwise, unused drugs should not be poured down a sink or flushed for disposal.

Unused and/or expired medicines that remain in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

About Sonya Burke

Sonya Burke is the Multimedia Manager at Montgomery Community Media (MCM). You can email story ideas at sburke@mymcmedia.org or reach her on Twitter @SonyaNBurke.

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