Fairfax Residents Can Drop Off Unused Drugs At These Locations This Weekend

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax County will be participating in the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)’s National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday. The event will provide residents with additional locations to dispose of unused and expired medications.

The initiative is intended to prevent prescription drug misuse, accidental poisoning, and environmental harm. The program does not accept illegal drugs, needles, large quantities of liquids, pressurized canisters, or non-prescription ointments and lotions.

While prescription drugs are the focus of the program, they will also accept non-prescription pills, prescription ointments, pet medications, and e-cigarettes and vaping devices with their batteries removed.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 80 percent of heroin users in the 2000s reported first using prescription opioids prior to heroin. A separate study by the Annals of Internal Medicine found that nearly half of those who misused opioids first obtained them from friends or relatives. Removing unused and expired medications from medicine cabinets is seen as one way to prevent juvenile drug abuse.

Meanwhile, flushing unused drugs down the toilet or throwing them into the trash can have environmental impacts.

The following locations will be open on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.

• Fair Oaks District Police Station: 12300 Route 50, Fairfax

• Franconia District Police Station: 7170 Silver Lake Blvd, Alexandria

• Goodwin House (Bailey’s Crossroads): 3440 S. Jefferson St, Falls Church

• Mount Vernon District Police Station: 2511 Parkers Ln, Alexandria

• Reston Hospital Center: 1850 Town Center Pkwy, Reston, VA 20190: Outside Pavilion 1, across from Parking Garage B

• Sully District Police Station: 4900 Stonecroft Blvd, Chantilly, VA 20151

• Town of Vienna Police Department: 215 Center St South, Vienna, VA 22180

• Tysons Emergency: 8240 Leesburg Pike Service Rd, Tysons Corner, VA 22182

• West Springfield District Police Station (drive-through location): 6140 Rolling Rd, Springfield, VA 22152

Residents are asked to check their medicine cabinets for any unused or expired medication and to remove personal information from bottles and labels before disposal. For residents who cannot make it to the event, Fairfax County police stations and local pharmacies provide permanent drug disposal drop boxes.