The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced that National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is April 27.
To get the word out about the day, the Mental Health, Addiction & Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County will partner with local police departments will help people in Lorain County dispose of unneeded prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27.
“A lot of times, expired or unneeded medications find their way into the wrong hands and it’s dangerous and often tragic,” said Jinx Mastney, coordinator of the MHARS Opioid Response Outreach. “Most active users will say they got started in their own medicine cabinet or grandma’s medicine cabinet or their neighbor’s medicine cabinet.”
Mastney said the entire process during the take back day is anonymous.
“The police departments partner with the DEA, and the DEA supplies and everything they need to collect,” she said. “Normally, if you’re going to put your drugs in a police drop box, you’d want to take your name off the container.
“But because these boxes go directly to an incinerator, you don’t have to do that.”
Mastney said there also will be the opportunity for people to receive biodegradable bags that are safe for home disposals of prescription drugs.
“There will be officers at all the sites and volunteers with the MHARS Board that will have free medication locking bags and take home disposal pouches,” she said.
Mastney said although April 27 is the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, people in Lorain County can safely dispose of their prescription drugs year-round in drop boxes at county police departments.
Drug overdoses remain a significant issue in the area, but Lorain County is making progress toward easing the issue, she said.
“In 2023, Lorain County lost 117 residents to overdose deaths,” Mastney said. “Overdoses still continue, but because we are so active in Lorain County like having Narcan readily available, a harm reduction clinic, so many providers and peer support organizations, overdoses appear to be going down.”
A full list of the 16 drop box locations around the county can be found on the MHARS website.
