2,038 Pounds Of Expired Drugs Collected In Fairfax County

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Fairfax County Police Department collected 2,038 pounds of unwanted and expired medications Saturday as part of the DEA National Drug Take Back Day, according to a post on the department's official Twitter account.

Officers from FCPD's eight district stations helped county residents drop off unwanted and expired medications.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, millions of people every year misuse prescription pain relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives. Nearly 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid-involved overdoses that year.

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

The last drug take-back event was held in October 2020. During the event, partners collected nearly 985,400 pounds of unused prescription drugs nationwide, the largest amount ever collected in the program's 10 years. More than 403,676 pounds were collected in Virginia.

Nearly 13.7 million pounds of expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications have been collected since the program's inception.

The following shows how many bags and pounds of unwanted medications were collected at FCPD's district stations and Reston Hospital Center on Saturday:

• Sully: 4 bags, 180 pounds
• Mount Vernon: 6 bags, 163 pounds
• McLean: 10 bags, 326 pounds
• Mason: 8 bags, 126 pounds
• Reston Hospital Center: 12 bags, 279 pounds
• Franconia: 10 bags, 228 pounds
• West Springfield: 19 bags, 446 pounds
• Fair Oaks: 8 bags, 290 pounds
• TOTAL: 2,038 pounds

For those who missed Saturday's drop-off event, Fairfax County has a number of permanent dropbox locations, including:

• West Springfield Police Station, 6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA 22152; 703-644-7377
• Town of Herndon Police Station, 397 Herndon Parkway, #300, Herndon, VA; 703-435-6846
• Walgreens Pharmacy: Available in the following locations: Alexandria, Annandale, Centreville, and Springfield
• Spectrum Healthcare Resources, 10580 Arrowhead Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030; 571-432-2600
• Kaiser Reston, 1890 Metro Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190; 703-709-1560

20th Annual Drug Take Back Day – Operation Medicine Cabinet Cleanout https://t.co/egwSsN2y7E pic.twitter.com/XsQUrYciow
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) April 27, 2021