Unwanted drugs at home? Get rid of them for free this weekend

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you have unwanted drugs in your home, you can get rid of them anonymously this weekend.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is hosting drug takeback events from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in several counties around Florida. It's a way to safely dispose of unused prescriptions. Locations include:

  • St. Johns County: St Augustine Police Department at 151 King Street
  • St. Johns County: Ancient City Kids Day (11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) at 25 West Castillo Drive
  • Flagler County: Palm Coast Office-City Market Place, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite C-107
  • Flagler County: Belle Terre Crossings Shopping Plaza, 4950 Belle Terre Parkway
  • Flagler County: Palm Coast Town Center Shopping Plaza, 800 Belle Terre Parkway
  • Flagler County: Island Walk Shopping Plaza, 250 Palm Coast Parkway N.E.
  • Baker County: CVS Pharmacy at 121 West Macclenny Avenue
  • Columbia County: Cheek and Scott Pharmacy at 161 SW Stonegate Terrace
  • Nassau County: Nassau County Sheriff's Office at 77151 Citizens Circle
  • Nassau County: Fernandina Beach Police Department at 1525 Lime Street

"It gets the unused or expired medications out of the medicine cabinets and keeps them out of the hands of people that shouldn't have them," said Tracy Walters, who works with the DEA in Jacksonville.

In 2017, the program received 30,000 pounds of pills in Florida. The event comes at a time when opioid drug overdoses are still happening in Jacksonville and around the country.According to Jacksonville Fire Rescue, the department treated more than 1,200 drug overdoses from May to September of 2018.

The DEA will take the unused prescription drugs without asking any questions and destroy them using an incinerator. See below for a full list of what is and is not accepted at the event.


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