You'll have a chance to get rid of unused prescription medications on Saturday — and possibly save someone from addiction or death by doing it.
Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, when citizens can turn in prescription drugs so they don't end up in the wrong hands.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Mayo Clinic, UF Health North, HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Clay Action Coalition are among the organizations participating locally.
- WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 30.
WHERE: Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road South; UF Health North, 15255 Max Leggett Parkway; and HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital’s emergency room, 2001 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. Or go here to find other dropoff locations.
If you can't make the event, you can drop off unused prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications at the Police Memorial Building, Forsyth Street entrance. The drop box is accessible 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
- WHAT'S ACCEPTED: Prescription drugs, schedule II-V controlled substances and non-controlled drugs. The drop-off sites aren’t just for opioids — you can clear out any prescription drugs, including antibiotics.
- WHAT'S NOT ACCEPTED: Illegal (schedule I) drugs, needles/syringes/sharps containers, medical devices/batteries, aerosol cans/inhalers, chemicals, mercury-containing devices, radioactive drugs, and liquid chemotherapy drugs.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Chief Keith Powers said Jacksonville has been particularly hard hit by the opioid crisis. He lost his own cousin and his cousin’s son to prescription drug overdoses.
“It affects families and affects families like mine, and it affects families just like yours," he said during a news conference Tuesday. "And I think all of us have a story we can tell that's similar to that. This is personal to me, and I would like to see everybody in the community participate in cleaning out those medicine cabinets.”
Dr. Jodie Graves, HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital’s director of pharmacy, said access to medication in the home is a major source of unintentional pediatric poisonings.
Each year about 6,000 emergency visits nationwide are related to children under the age of 6 ingesting medication without the oversight of an adult.
Since the start of the pandemic, the nation has seen an increase in opioid-related mortality. “A significant number of opioid addictions and overdose deaths come from individuals accessing unused opioids prescriptions of family and friends,” Graves said.
In Florida, 2.56% of all deaths are caused by drug overdoses, and Florida’s drug overdose death rate is 23.2% higher than the national average, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Florida Association of Managing Entities, which represents nonprofits that oversee state and federal behavioral health systems.
“Properly disposing of prescription medications is a simple way to prevent accidental drug overdoses in young children and to keep them out of the hands of teens who may misuse them," said DCF Secretary Shevaun Harris. "By simply checking cabinets to ensure that old medications are properly discarded, you can save not only the lives of your own children, but also people in your community.”
