Saturday is National Drug Take Back Day, giving everyone an opportunity to drop off their old or unused prescriptions.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, residents can drop off their unused or unwanted prescriptions at locations across Utah.
Ahead of the 29th annual event, officials shared how important it is not to let prescriptions get into the wrong hands.
“Prescription drug misuse is a nationwide problem,” said Janet Zarndt, vice president of pharmacy at MountainStar Healthcare. “There’s around 8,300 deaths each year from drug overdoses, so it’s really important to get rid of unused or expired medications.”
Approximately 20 million pounds of medications have been collected on National Drug Take Back Day over the years.
“We have seven hospitals at MountainStar Healthcare that will be hosting these events,” Zarndt said. “And you just come right in. We have our law enforcement partners, and you can just dump it right in the bins.
People are reminded not to drop off any needles, lancets or illegal drugs.
“Here in Utah, we have anywhere from 600 to 700 overdose deaths a year,” Zarndt added. “So we want to get these medications off the street. Over the years here in Utah, we were able to collect about 2,500 pounds of unused medications.”
Dozens of locations are available for people to drop off prescriptions, from local police and sheriff’s offices to hospitals.
- Bountiful police department
- Draper Police Department
- Lakeview hospital
- Lehi Police Department
- Macey's - Lehi
- MountainStar Healthcare hospitals
- Orem police department
- South Salt Lake Police Department
- Spanish Fork Police Department
- South Jordan Police Department
- West Jordan Police Department
CLICK HERE to find more information about drug drop-off locations.
