ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Anne Arundel County residents looking to safely and legally discard old prescription medicines can do so at the Annapolis Police Department’s Station at the end of the month.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, the station at 199 Taylor Ave. will accept pills, patches, and lotions for safe disposal. For safety reasons, anything sharp or potentially dangerous (needles, Epipens, aerosols, inhalers, etc.) can be dropped off at the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Stations or Headquarters in properly marked boxes. All of the disposal services are free, and those dropping off medicines can do so anonymously.
The prescription drop-off event marks the 17th time in nine years the department partnered with the DEA allowing residents to utilize this service, the Annapolis Police said. Nearly 460 tons of prescription drugs were dropped off at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,800 sites run by state or local law enforcement partners last fall across the country. Almost 11 million pounds of such drugs have been collected in the 16 preceding “Take Back” events.
The initiative is a priority of public safety, making sure unused or unwanted prescription drugs are disposed of safely before they can be abused, misused, sold, accidentally ingested, cause a poisoning, or pose a contamination threat to local land resources.
“This is a great opportunity for residents to clear out their medicine chests,” Mayor Gavin Buckley said. “Not only does it help prevent seniors from taking old or expired medicines, it is also a program that keeps people from taking drugs that weren't prescribed to them.”
