Full Notification

The Anne Arundel County Police Department announces its participation again in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s “Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day”. This program is part of a nationwide effort that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. This event will provide a safe way for our community to dispose of the unwanted medicines they have in their homes.

The initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are often obtained from family and friends and from a home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, which are both potential safety and health hazards.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted medicines for destruction at the four police district stations on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The service is free and anonymous.

The locations are as follows:

Northern District station
939 Hammonds Lane
Baltimore, MD

Eastern District station
3700 Mountain Road
Pasadena, MD

Western District station
8273 Telegraph Road
Odenton, MD

Southern District station
35 Stepney’s Lane
Edgewater, MD

Additional drop off sites outside of Anne Arundel County may be located at www.dea.gov. Additional information will be available on the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s website at http://www.aacounty.org/police.