INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — To prevent the abuse of prescription drugs, law enforcement agencies will partner with the Drug Enforcement Administration and a nonprofit for a day to allow residents to get rid of their unused medications.
“We do not want unused medication to end up in the wrong hands,” Indian River County sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said. “This is a good way for you to legally get rid of unused medication.”
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. Residents can bring their medication to the following locations.
- Perkins Pharmacy, State Road 60, Vero Beach
- Walgreens, 53rd Street and U.S. 1, U.S. 1 and Oslo Road, 43rd Avenue Southwest and Oslo Road, 58th Avenue and State Road 60, Vero Beach
- Walmart, State Road 60, Vero Beach
- CVS, all locations in Vero Beach
- Walgreens, U.S. 1 at Roseland, Sebastian
- Walmart, Sebastian
- Bay Street Pharmacy, Sebastian
Law enforcement agencies will then take the drugs and get rid of them. The sheriff’s office created Operation Medicine Cabinet, another drug take back program, in 2009 to coincide with the national event to bring awareness of the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, Flowers said.
To an ailing grandmother, the pills tucked away in her medicine cabinet could be a lifesaver. But, to young, curious eyes, the old prescription bottle filled with pills could mean harm, or worse, death.
Six million Americans have misused controlled prescription drugs, according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health cited by the DEA. Many of those people who abused the drugs got them from family and friends, often from the medicine cabinet at home.
Flowers said residents should not flush the drugs down the toilet or take them to landfills for disposal. Taking the drugs to landfills will allow animals to have contact with the medications, Flowers noted.
He also said flushing the drugs will allow the medications to end up in the water system, which could be harmful to people.
Other agencies participating in the event are the Vero Beach and Sebastian police departments. The Substance Abuse Free Indian River coalition, a medical and health nonprofit, will also join.
Flowers said the sheriff’s office has a drug drop off box that is in the lobby for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.