Bel Air Police Department Gets Drug Dropoff Box

BEL AIR, MD — Have expired medications that you want to get out of your medicine cabinet? The Bel Air Police Department is now accepting unwanted prescriptions so that people can easily get rid of them in a safe way, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The department announced that it now has a prescription drop-off box located at the station at 39 North Hickory Avenue.

The Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy helped bring the drop box to fruition, police said. It is located outside the doors to the station and is in the view of surveillance cameras.

Here is the rundown of what people can bring to the new disposal box outside of the Bel Air Police Department:

Accepted

• Prescriptions (including ointments and patches)
• Pet medications
• Over-the-counter medicines
• Vitamins

Prohibited

• Aerosol cans
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Inhalers
• Liquids/lotions
• Needles
• Thermometers

Getting rid of unwanted medications is good for public health, preventing them from falling into the hands of those who are not prescribed them and keeping them out of waterways (e.g., if people flush drugs down the toilet). The recent Prescription Drug Take Back Day sponsored by the Office of Drug Control Police and the DEA in partnership with local law enforcement netted 1,293 pounds of unwanted medicine on Oct. 28, according to Harford County government officials.

The biannual event, which also happens in April, is designed to curb drug abuse, prevent harm to the environment and raise awareness about the availability of drug drop boxes.

There are now seven places in Harford County that have drug drop-off boxes:

• Bel Air Police Department, 39 North Hickory Avenue, Bel Air
• Harford Sheriff’s Main Office, 45 S. Main Street, Bel Air
• State Police Bel Air Barrack, 1401 Belair Road, Bel Air
• Harford Sheriff’s Northern Precinct, 3724 Norrisville Road, Jarrettsville
• Harford Sheriff’s Southern Precinct, 1305 Pulaski Highway, Edgewood
• Havre de Grace Police Department, 715 Pennington Avnue, Havre de Grace
• Aberdeen Police Department, 60 N Parke St., Aberdeen

Photos courtesy of the Bel Air Police Department.