Saturday, April 24, 2021, is National Prescription Take Back Day. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office provides the public an opportunity to prevent prescription abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters located at 23150 Leonard Hall Drive in Leonardtown. The service is free and anonymous, and the medication drop-boxes are located in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Office. The drop-boxes are available for medication disposal, not just on National Prescription Take Back Day, but every day and are accessible 24 hours a day, to include a sharps container for needle collection.
In past years, St. Mary’s County residents have turned in nearly 1.5 million prescription pills at multiple community events and sites operated by the Sheriff’s Office. Nationally, previous Take Back events, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration and its partners have taken in over 8.1 million pounds of disposed medication.
This initiative addresses a vital public health and safety issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse 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.
For official news and information, follow the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office on Twitter @firstsheriff.
