JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With spring cleaning season in full bloom, there's one area of your home you might not have thought to purge: the medicine cabinet.
Unused prescription medicines left in home cabinets are ripe for misuse and abuse if they get into the wrong hands.
Recommended Videos
Prescription drug abuse rates in the U.S. are alarmingly high. So are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses from prescription meds.
The Drug Enforcement Administration wants to help you clean out your unused medications during its National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The take-back events happen twice every year and are coordinated with state and local law enforcement partners.
Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 460 tons, or more than 900,000 pounds, of unused or expired prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,800 of its partners.
“I am encouraging Floridians to join us in our fight to end the opioid crisis by participating in Drug Take Back Day,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “The event gives people the opportunity to dispose of expired and unused medications in a safe, responsible manner. Additionally, it helps keep opioid-based painkillers and other prescription drugs out of the wrong hands, helping prevent addiction and overdose deaths.”
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet.
“As chair of the Children and Youth Cabinet, I am particularly concerned about how our kids are affected by the opioid crisis,” Florida first lady Casey DeSantis said. “We know that children often get their hands on prescription drugs in the home medicine cabinet. Gov. DeSantis and I urge all Floridians to participate in Drug Take Back Day and safely dispose of unused and expired prescription drugs to ensure that they stay out of the wrong hands and away from our children.”
Overall, in its 16 previous take-back events, the DEA and its partners have taken in almost 11 million pounds, or nearly 5,500 tons, of pills.
Jacksonville-area drug take-back locations include:
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Zone 1 Substation
5258-13 Norwood Ave.
Jacksonville, FL 32208
Drug Enforcement Administration
Belk Parking Lot of Avenues Mall
10310 Southside Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL 32256
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
Ponte Vedra Library
101 Library Blvd.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
Baptist Primary Care
98 Nocatee Village Drive
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32081
St. Augustine Library
1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
St. Johns County Library System
6670 U.S. Route 1
St. Augustine, FL 32086
St. Augustine Police Department
Headquarters
151 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Clay County Sheriff's Office
Orange Park Medical Center
2001 Kingsley Ave.
Orange Park, FL 32073
Walmart
899 Blanding Blvd.
Orange Park, FL 32065
Nassau County Sheriff's Office
Headquarters
77151 Citizens Circle
Yulee, FL 32097
Fernandina Beach Police Department
Front lobby of headquarters
1525 Lime St.
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
If none of these locations is near you, call 800-882-9539 or search for the nearest take-back location at www.DEATakeBack.com. Choose Collection Site Locator from the menu.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said citizens who can't drop off medications during Saturday's event can bring them to the collection box at the Forsyth Street entrance of the Police Memorial Building at 501 E. Bay St., 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
