At the beginning of this new year, Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis is encouraging Pennsylvanians to properly clear out their medicine cabinets of any expired or unwanted medication.

“The start of a new year is a good time to go through and get rid of old or unwanted prescription drugs and medicines,” said Secretary Tennis.  “These drugs should be deposited at a drug take-back location. Prescription drugs cannot be thrown out in the trash because they could be found by others and used or abused, neither of which is safe. Do not flush them down the toilet, where they could also make their way into and pollute the water supply.”

By disposing of your unwanted and expired medications responsibly, you are also doing your part to help curb the opioid epidemic in the commonwealth that claims the lives of ten Pennsylvanians a day.

With the number of opioid overdoses increasing, said Tennis, the Wolf Administration is planning to expand this initiative to include additional drug take-back boxes within Pennsylvania State Police barracks and hopefully some independent drugstores and drugstore chain locations.

Tennis said there are more than 500 drug take-back boxes at locations around the state mainly in local police stations. The drug take-back program takes place in collaboration with local law enforcement officers, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the state Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation (BNI), the Pennsylvania National Guard, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

To find the closest drug take-back boxes to you, click here.

If you or someone you know is suffering from substance use disorder, help is available. Please call 1-800-662-HELP or visit pa.gov/opioids to find treatment options.