Where To Drop Off Unused Prescription Drugs In Howard County Oct. 23

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — If you have expired or unused prescription drugs taking up space in your medicine cabinet, Howard County residents will have an opportunity to safely get rid of them later this month.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 23. The purpose of the twice-annual event is to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs so they don’t end up in the wrong hands.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration will host the 21st event in cooperation with law enforcement agencies. During the April 2021 event, agencies collected nearly 840,000 pounds of unused prescription drugs.

A collection site will be set up in the Wilde Lake Village Center parking lot in Columbia. HC Drug Free will accept prescription and over-the-counter medications, sharps (needles, syringes, EpiPens) and more. When delivering, sharps must be separate from other medication/items and in designated sharps containers so no one can be pricked. The service is free and anonymous. Howard County General Hospital also will be accepting unused prescription drugs that day.

Here’s where to find a year-round drug take-back site.

Each year, millions of people misuse prescription pain relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives that year.

The survey also showed that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from a home medicine cabinet.

More than 96,700 people died from opioid-involved overdoses during the 12-month period ending in March 2021, according to provisional estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The Environmental Protection Agency offers guidance on items not accepted during take-back events, including the disposal of sharps and other medical waste. The Food and Drug Administration offers tips on getting rid of liquid medicines that are expired or no longer needed.

Given the ongoing pandemic, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency also have tips on how to safely dispose of drugs without leaving home.