Have Unused Meds? Here's Where to Take Them

Prescription medications can be harmful if children and pets get a hold of them. To avoid potential medical emergencies, the best solution is to dispose of them at your local police station.

Saturday, April 29 is National Drug Take-Back Day, and the Unified Prevention Coalition is sponsoring an unused medication drop off at the county's eight police stations.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, anyone can confidentially drop off unused medications for free at these locations:

• Fair Oaks District Station, 12300 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy, Fairfax, VA 22033
• Franconia District Station, 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, VA 22310
• Mason District Station, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003
• McLean District Station, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101
• Mount Vernon District Station, 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306
• Reston District Station, 12000 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston, VA 20190
• Sully District Station, 4900 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly, VA 20151
• West Springfield District Station, 6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA 22152

Only liquid and pill medications are accepted. Needles and pressurized canisters cannot be dropped off.

There are other safe ways to throw away unused medications any other time of the year. UPC warns individuals to not flush medications, as they end up in rivers and streams. Throwing medications in the trash is ok, as long as you follow certain steps to ensure people or animals will not accidentally encounter the drugs. Find out more information on how to dispose of medications any time in the year on the county's website.

UPC and Fairfax County are hosting the medication drop off as prescription drug abuse has raised concerns in the community. In 2016, Virginia had 1,420 drug-related deaths, nearly 400 more than the previous year, according to a new Virginia Department of Health Report. In Fairfax County, a 17-year-old Centreville girl died from a drug overdose last March.

“UPC spearheads this event because of our concern for the growing public health problem of prescription drug abuse, particularly among youth and young adults,” said UPC Board Member Heather Stone Davies. “The most recent Fairfax County Youth Survey data indicated that almost one in 10 of our students had abused a prescription drug."

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