Boulder County residents can drop off unwanted prescription pills, patches, small amounts of liquid medication and some vaping devices and cartridges during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day later this month.
The Drug Enforcement Agency collection event is scheduled for Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department is hosting a drop off event at its headquarters, located at 5600 Flatiron Parkway in Boulder, according to a Boulder County news release.
“The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked,” the news release states.
At least 187 pounds of medications were collected from 116 people at the Oct. 23, 2021 DEA Take Back Day at the Sheriff’s Department headquarters, Carrie Haverfield, sheriff’s spokeswoman, said via email.
Nationally, 4,276 law enforcement agencies participated in the October 2021 event with 4,982 collection sites, according to the DEA Take Back Day website. The sites collected 744,082 pounds of unused prescription medications, or 372 tons, the website states.
There are additional events being hosted around the area on April 30. For information about locations go to: www.dea.gov/takebackday.
As far as vaping devices, the DEA cannot accept devices containing lithium in batteries, the news release states. If batteries cannot be removed prior to drop off, the DEA encourages individuals to consult with stores that recycle lithium in batteries.
Items also not accepted at this year’s collection include:
- Needles or other sharps
- Inhalers
- Mercury thermometers
- Iodine-containing medications
- Illicit drugs or substances
- Marijuana (which is still a schedule 1 drug under federal law).
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