Drop Off Unused Prescription Drugs Saturday Near Buffalo Grove

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — For the 22nd year, police departments across the nation will be participating in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, scheduled for Saturday locally. Buffalo Grove area residents with expired or unused prescription drugs taking up space in their medicine cabinets will be able to safely get rid of them during the twice-annual event.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., was created by the Drug Enforcement Administration through the U.S. Department of Justice. A drug take back event is also held in April. The results of April's event, according to DEA:

• Total Law Enforcement Participation: 4,427
• Total Collection Sites: 5,144
• Total Weight Collected: 721,093 pounds (360 Tons)
• Total Weight All Time: 15,989,566 pounds (7,995 Tons)

Liquid products, intravenous solutions and syringes are not being accepted. The service is free and anonymous, with no questions asked, according to the Rolling Meadows Police Department.

"The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety, and national security threat," DEA said on its website. "The DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects DEA’s commitment to Americans’ safety and health, encouraging the public to remove unneeded medications from their homes as a measure of preventing medication misuse and opioid addiction from ever starting."

According to DEA, the following Buffalo Grove area police departments are participating on Saturday:

• Buffalo Grove Police Department, 46 Raupp Blvd., Buffalo Grove
• Wheeling Police Department, 1 Community Blvd., Wheeling
• Bannockburn Police Department, Walgreen's Pharmacy, 2501 Waukegan Road, Bannockburn
• Lake County Sheriff's Office, Green Oaks Village Hall, 2020 O'Plaine Road, Libertyville