Drug Take-Back Day 2016: When, Where to Get Rid of Drugs in Oakland County

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Residents can safely get unused or expired prescription drugs out of the house during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 30.

Several police agencies in southeast Michigan will offer this safe, free and anonymous way to prevent pill abuse and theft by disposing of unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs.

At the last drug take-back day in September, Americans turned in 350 tons (more than 702,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners.

Overall, in its 10 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 5.5 million pounds — more than 2,750 tons — of pills.

What To Do

Authorities say that if possible, prescription labels should be removed or personal information should be blacked out. Pill bottles will still be accepted if the labels are attached. No questions will be asked.

Disposing of drugs through a drug take-back day is the safest option, police say. If it is safe to dispose of a drug by flushing it down a toilet, the drug label or prescription information will list that option as an appropriate means of disposal. Otherwise, unused drugs should not be poured down a sink or flushed for disposal.

Drugs should only be thrown in the trash if precautions are followed to prevent them from being ingested by an animal or person. Here's what to do:

• Mix pills or capsules with kitty litter, coffee grounds or sawdust.
• Liquid medications can be solidified using kitty litter or sawdust.
• Put the medication mixture into a plastic bag (with a seal) or other empty container with a lid to prevent leakage.
• Seal the bag or container.
• Put the container or bag containing the medication into your regular household trash.
• Remove the label with the patient’s name from the original medicine vial or bottle.
• Place the empty plastic vial or bottle into your blue county recycling bin. Empty aerosol inhalers can also be recycled in the county recycling bins.

Unused and/or expired medicines that remain in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, 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. Experts say a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

All the medications turned in on Drug Take-back Day will be incinerated by police.

Where to Take Them

Below is a list of drop-off centers in southeast Michigan (if you don’t see your community listed, check back, as new sites are added every day). The drop-off is at the sponsoring police agency’s office unless otherwise noted. Hours are from 10 a.m.-noon.

OAKLAND COUNTY

• Farmington Hills Police Department, 31655 W. 11 Mile Road, Farmington Hills
• Ferndale Police Department, 310 E. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale
• Lake Orion Police Department, 21 E. Church St., Lake Orion
• Madison Heights Police Department, 280 W. 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights
• Michigan State Police, MSP Metro Post, 1435 West 10 Mile Road, Oak Park
• Novi Police Department, 45125 W. 10 Mile Road, Novi
• Royal Oak Police Department, 221 E. Third St., Royal Oak
• Southfield Police Department, 26000 Evergreen Road, Southfield
• Walled Lake Police Department, 1499 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake
• West Bloomfield Police Department, 4530 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township
• Wixom Police Department, 49045 Pontiac Trail, Wixom

WAYNE COUNTY

• Canton Police Department, 1150 S. Canton Center, Canton
• Dearborn Police Department, 16099 Michigan Ave., Dearborn
• Detroit Police Department, St. John’s Conners Creek, 4777 E. Outer Drive, Detroit
• Hamtramck Police Department, CVS Parking Lot, 9300 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck
• Southgate Police Department, 14710 Reaume Parkway, Southgate
• Melvindale Police Department, 3100 Oakwood Blvd., Melvindale
• Wyandotte Police Department, 2015 Biddle Ave., Wyandotte

MACOMB COUNTY

• Clinton Township Police, 37985 Groesbeck, Clinton Township
• Eastpointe Police Department, 16083 Nine Mile Road, Eastpointe
• Macomb County Sheriff’s Department, 43565 Elizabeth Road, Mount Clemens
• Sterling Heights Police Department, 40333 Dodge Park, and St. Michael Catholic Community Church, 40501 Hayes, Sterling Heights
• Warren Police Department, 29900 Civic Center, and Warren Elk’s Lodge, 2595 Shoenherr, Warren

WASTENAW COUNTY

• Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, 2201 Hogback Road, Ann Arbor

LIVINGSTON COUNTY

• Michigan State Police, MSP Brighton Post, 4337 Buno Road, Brighton

GENESEE COUNTY

• Baker College Department of Public Safety, Baker College of Flint Campus Security Office, 1050 W. Bristol Road, Flint
• Flushing Police Department, 725 E. Main St., Flushing
• Michigan State Police, MSP Flint Post, G-4481 Corunna Road, Flint

A full list of drug drop-off sites in Michigan is found here.

Image credit: Eric Hunsaker via Flickr / Creative Commons