People with unused or expired prescription medications have an opportunity Saturday to dispose of them safely at a drop-off site on the northwest side of town.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department is holding a Dispose-a-Med event at Walgreens, 2150 W. Orange Grove Road, from 10 a.m .to 2 p.m.
Items that will be collected include prescription and over-the-counter pills, capsules, caplets, gel caps, medicated patches and powders.
Metal or glass inhalers, syringes, epi-pens, patches, creams, liquids and diabetic test strips will not be accepted.
For safety and confidentiality reasons, anything turned in during the event cannot be returned, and drugs from commercial organizations won't be accepted.
The Sheriff's department has conducted multiple Dispose-a-Med events over the years, and has collected thousands of pounds of unused or expired prescription drugs, according to a department news release.
Prescription drugs are abused by teenagers more than any other illegal drug, except marijuana. Most teens get these drugs for free from medicine cabinets often belonging to friends and family, and storing unused medications creates the opportunity for drug abuse, the release said.
It's not advised to pour unused drugs down the sink or flush them down the toilet because wastewater facilities aren't designed to remove them, the release said.
