Montgomery County residents can safely dispose of expired, unwanted or unused prescriptions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, a day set aside as the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Residents are encouraged to bring in medications containing controlled substances but will accept any medications brought for disposal. All sites will take pills and medication patches of all kinds.
If possible, prescription labels should be removed or personal information should be blacked out; however, pill bottles will still be accepted if the labels are attached. No questions will be asked. This is an opportunity to safely empty out a medicine cabinet of drugs that are no longer needed.
The returned medications will be incinerated according to federal and state environmental guidelines.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, unused or expired medicines that are stored in home medicine cabinets can be the source of misuse, abuse, accidental poisonings and overdoses. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
The drop-off sites will accept prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications only. Liquids, illicit drugs, needles, sharps and syringes cannot be accepted as part of the program.
Police and other county law enforcement agencies will provide anonymous drop-off sites. Officers will staff collection boxes in the parking lots of the following facilities or in facility lobbies:
Bethesda:
Montgomery County Police 2nd District Station, 4823 Rugby Avenue
Chevy Chase:
Village of Friendship Heights Community Center, 4433 South Park Avenue
Damascus:
Damascus United Methodist Church, 9700 New Church Street
Gaithersburg:
Asbury Methodist Village, 301 Odendhal Avenue
North Creek Community Center, 20125 Arrowhead Road
Gaithersburg Police Station, 14 Fulks Corner Ave.
Germantown:
Montgomery County Police 5th District Station, 20000 Aircraft Drive
Wegmans, 20600 Seneca Meadows Parkway
Leisure World:
MedStar Pharmacy, 3305 North Leisure World Boulevard
Rockville:
Rockville City Police/Montgomery County Sheriff’s, Rockville City Police Station, 2 W. Montgomery Avenue (Lobby of Rockville City Police building)
Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack, 7915 Montrose Road
Bender Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Washington, 6125 Montrose Road
Silver Spring:
Fire Station 1/ 3rd District Central Business District Satellite Station, 8110 Georgia Avenue
Montgomery County Police 3rd District Station – 1002 Milestone Drive
Takoma Park:
Takoma Park Police at Takoma Park City Building Lobby, 7500 Maple Ave.
Wheaton:
Montgomery County Police 4th District Station, 2300 Randolph Road
Disposing of prescription drugs through a drug take-back day is the safest option. If it is safe to dispose of a drug by flushing it down a toilet, the drug label or prescription information will say so. Otherwise, unused drugs should not be poured down a sink or flushed for disposal.
Drugs should not be thrown in the trash unless specific safety precautions for safe disposal are followed. The County’s Division of Solid Waste Services offers these suggestions:
- Place unwanted or expired medication into a plastic bag (with a seal) or another empty container with a lid to prevent liquid medications from leaking out.
- Mix with kitty litter, coffee grounds or sawdust. (Liquid medications can be solidified using kitty litter or sawdust.)
- 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 recycling bins.
The event is organized by the Washington Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and is coordinated in our county by the county police and Substance Abuse Prevention Office in the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.
