Date: October 22, 2024
Contact Info: Public Affairs Division (909) 387-3700
26th Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2024
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will give the public its 26th opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal on Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to any one of the below-listed collection sites. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Last April, the public turned in 670,136 pounds (335 tons) of potentially dangerous, expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for disposal at over 4,600 collection sites across the country.
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
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 U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
Studies show that most abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. Also, Americans are advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department will have three (3) locations participating in the collection of unused prescription medications. They will be available on Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and no appointment is necessary. The three (3) participating sites are listed below:
Highland Police Department
26985 E. Baseline St., Highland, CA
Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station
34144 Yucaipa Blvd., Yucaipa, CA
Victor Valley Station
11613 Bartlett Ave., Adelanto, CA
We encourage every citizen to look in their homes for any old, unused prescription medication and bring them to one of the listed collection sites for disposal.
For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 26th Take-Back Day event, go to www.dea.gov/takebackday
Any public inquiries can be made to 1-800-882-9539 or contact the Sheriff’s Public Affairs Division at 909-387-3700
SHANNON DICUS, Sheriff-Coroner
San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department
