Drop Off Unwanted Prescriptions on Drug Take-Back Day in Annapolis

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Annapolis residents can safely dispose of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines on Saturday, Oct. 22, when the Annapolis Police Department participates in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Initiative. The event lets people surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications to law enforcement officers for destruction.

The drop-off program is completely anonymous, no identification is requested of people disposing of prescription medications, and people are therefore encouraged to remove identifying labels from containers.

Residents can stop by the lobby of the Annapolis Police Department from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, to get rid of prescription medications. You are asked to remove identifying labels from containers.

Liquid medications should be in a sealed container to prevent leakage (original bottle). Other medications (pills, tablets, etc.) can be in a ziplock bag or will be disposed of directly into the disposal box, and their original containers can be put in a recycling bin.

The police department is not accepting needles or injectibles. Any other type of medication is accepted (controlled, non-controlled, or over the counter).

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health has also placed a permanent prescription drug drop-off box in the lobby of the police department at 199 Taylor Ave. The public can discard expired, unwanted, and unused prescription and over-the-counter drugs Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. 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, according to federal authorities. Studies show most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. And, disposing of unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash both pose potential safety and health hazards.

County Drug Drop-Off Sites

If Annapolis residents can’t make it to the local station, the Anne Arundel County Police Department is also holding a Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 22. And the county has permanent drug drop-off boxes at its district offices; those drop boxes are accessible around the clock. The box at county police headquarters is available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

County locations are:

• Anne Arundel Police Headquarters, 8495 Veterans Highway in Millersville
• Southern District, 35 Stepneys Lane in Edgewater, (410) 222-1961
• Western District, 8273 Telegraph Road in Odenton, (410) 222-6155
• Eastern District, 3700 Mountain Road in Pasadena, (410) 222-6145
• Northern District, 939 Hammonds Lane in Baltimore, (410) 222-6135
»Graphic courtesy of the US Drug Enforcement Agency