The Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs.
People may bring their prescription medications for disposal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 24 to the sheriff’s office at 304 Laurel St., Brainerd. Prescription medications can also be disposed of at numerous other law enforcement agencies throughout Crow Wing County, during normal business hours, through the “Take It To The Box” Initiative.
Take It To The Box locations (hours vary by location) include the following:
Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office;
Breezy Point Police Department, 8361 Crow Wing County Highway 11, Breezy Point;
Crosby Police Department, Second St. S.W., Crosby;
Crosslake Police Department, 37028 County Highway 66, Crosslake;
Nisswa Police Department, 5442 City Hall St., Nisswa;
Pequot Lakes Police Department, 4638 County Highway 11, Pequot Lakes.
More information and a list of drop off sites can be found at tinyurl.com/y3oetjfw . Sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Disposal boxes are permanently available at all locations and are accessible during normal business hours. Prescription medications can be disposed of outside of the date and time of this event.
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This month’s event is the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 19th nationwide event since its inception 10 years ago.
Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 883,000 pounds of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites
operated by the administration and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners, a news release stated. The drug administration, along with its law enforcement partners, has now collected nearly 6,350 tons of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription medications since the inception of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative in 2010.
To keep everyone safe, collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs, the news release stated.
In addition to the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long.
For more information, visit the drug administration’s year-round collection site locator link at tinyurl.com/y2f5soxu . The Federal Drug Administration also provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs by going to tinyurl.com/y3uppuqt .
