Residents throughout San Joaquin County communities are being encouraged to safely dispose of unwanted and expired medications for free at the upcoming National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
On Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., San Joaquin County Public Health Services and the San Joaquin County Opioid Safety Coalition will partner with local law enforcement and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to provide drop-off locations for expired and unwanted drugs. This event provides a safe, anonymous, and environmentally friendly alternative of medication disposal to prevent misuse.
Residents can stop by any one of the six drop-off sites throughout the county, including: Lodi Police Department, 215 W. Elm St., Lodi; Youngs Payless Market, 18980 CA-88, Lockeford; Tracy Police Department, 1000 Civic Center Drive, Tracy; Code 3 Wear, 304 Lincoln Center, Stockton; Stockton Unified School District Department of Public Safety, 640 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton; and University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton.
This service is free of charge and anonymous, no questions asked. Officials do note that sites cannot accept needles or sharps materials. Information on where these materials can be safely disposed will be provided at each drop-off site.
Additionally, the following should be considered:
Pills may be brought in loose, in blister packs, or in their original prescription bottles;
Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container;
Vaping devices and cartridges will be accepted but must have lithium batteries removed;
Pet medications are also accepted.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue, said San Joaquin County officials. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Data shows that most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, particularly home medicine cabinets, so clearing out unused medicine is essential. Prescription medications often end up in the wrong hands, fueling a problem that kills more Americans than car accidents, according to the DEA. This Prescription Drug Take Back Day is the 28th nationwide event since its origination back in 2010. This past fall, around 630,000 pounds of unused or expired medications were collected across all collection sites during the October 2024 collection event in San Joaquin County.
In addition to DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, there are more than 11,000 authorized collectors available year-round. For more information, visit San Joaquin County’s Medication and Sharps Disposal Program’s website (http://bit.ly/3lYFXGr) or the DEA’s year-round collection site locator (bit.ly/3GyQw9W).
For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April collection day event, go to www.DEATakeBack.com. For questions about the local overdose prevention efforts, contact Rachel Zerbo, Public Health Educator, at 209-468-2699 or rzerbo@sjcphs.org.
