‘Mask up and drop off’ unwanted meds

“Clearing out medicine cabinets and bathroom cupboards of unwanted and expired medicines is an essential step to keeping your home safe.” — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele

NORRISTOWN » Using the slogan “Mask Up and Drop Off,” Montgomery County authorities said even during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak residents can safely rid their households of unwanted pills at an upcoming event to help combat the opioid epidemic and drug overdoses.

Forty-four police agencies countywide will participate in Drug Take Back Day on Sat., Oct. 24 and are ready to collect all unwanted, unneeded and expired prescription and overthe-counter medications, according to District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. The event is sponsored by the district attorney’s office and the Police Chiefs Association of Montgomery County.

The event, which coincides with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s nationwide Take Back Day, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all locations.

Officials had to cancel a Drug Take Back Day in April during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“T hrough this pandemic, the overdoses and overdose deaths have continued. Clearing out medicine cabinets and bathroom cupboards of unwanted and expired medicines is an essential step to keeping your home safe,” Steele said on Wednesday.

“Mask up, drive up and drop off those medicines safely, then township police officers, state troopers and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau will make sure that they are disposed of in an environmentally safe way,” Steele added.

The sites, staffed by police officers, will accept prescription and over-thecounter tablets and capsules, inhalers, liquid medications, creams and ointments, nasal sprays, pet medications and vap - ing products. Prescription medicines can be in their original prescription bottles with the label removed or can be placed in plastic bags.

Intravenous and injectable solutions as well as needles will not be accepted, officials said.

Steele said ridding medicine cabinets of unwanted medications is an important step for the safety of all households. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends and often come from the home medicine cabinet.

Steele has made fighting the opioid epidemic one of his office’s priorities.

The last collection day in October 2019 yielded 8,272 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications, with nearly 16,000 pounds collected during all of 2019.

Since the drug take back program began in 2010, more than 75,000 pounds of medicines have been collected and disposed of in a safe manner, officials said.

Residents who cannot make it to one of the locations on Oct. 24, can still dispose of unwanted medications throughout the year at more than 50 permanent prescription drug disposal boxes that have been placed throughout the county, many at police departments. Many of the boxes are sponsored by Pennsylvania American Water in an effort to help keep the water supply safe since it is not safe to flush unwanted medicines down the toilet, officials said.

Additional information about the drug disposal program can be found on the district attorney’s web site at www.montcopa.org/ da

The participating sites for Drug Take Back Day on

Oct. 24 include:

• Abington Township Police Department, 1166 Old York Rd.

• Ambler Police Department, 131 Rosemary Ave.

• Bridgeport Borough Police Department, 65 W. 4th St.

• Bryn Athyn Police Department, 2825 Buck Rd.

• Cheltenham Township Police Department, 8230 Old York Rd.

• Collegeville Police Department, at the municipal building, 491 E. Main St.

• Douglass Township Police Department, 1320 E. Philadelphia Ave., Gilbertsville

• East Norriton Township Police Department, 2501 Stanbridge St.

• Franconia Township Police, at Franconia Elementary School, 366 Harleysville Pike, Souderton

• Hatboro Police Department, 120 E. Montgomery Ave.

• Hatfield Township Police Department, at the administration building, 1950 School Rd.

• Lansdale Police Department, 35 Vine St.

• Limerick Township Police Department, 646 W. Ridge Pike

• Lower Gwynedd Township Police Department, 1130 N. Bethlehem Pike, Spring House

• Lower Merion Police Department, 71 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore

• Lower Moreland Township Police Department, 640 Red Lion Rd., Huntingdon Valley

• Lower Pot tsg rove Township Police, at Sanatoga Fire Company, 2222 E. High St.

• Lower Prov idence Township Police Department, 100 Parklane Dr., Eagleville

• Marlborough Township Police Department, 6040 Upper Ridge Rd., Green Lane

• Montgomery Township Police Department, at Giant Food Store, 1201 Knapp Rd.

• Narbeth Borough Police Department, 100 Conway Ave.

• Norristown Municipal Police Department, 235 E. Airy St.

• North Wales Police, at borough hall, 300 School St.

• Pennsylvania State PoliceBelmont, 2201 Belmont Ave., Philadelphia

• Pennsylvania State PoliceSkippack, 2047C Bridge Road (Rte. 113), Schwenksville

• Plymouth Township Police Department, 700 Belvoir Rd., Plymouth Meeting

• Pottstown Police Department, 100 E. High St.

• Rockledge Borough Police Department, One Park Ave.

• Royersford Borough Police Department, 300 Main St.

• Souderton Police Department, 31 W. Summit St.

• Springfield Township Police Department, 1510 Paper Mill Rd., Wyndmoor

• Towamencin Township Police Department, 1090 Troxel

Rd.

• Upper Dublin Township Police Department, 801 Loch Alsh Ave., Fort Washington

• Upper Gwynedd Township Police Department, 1 Parkside Place, West Point

• Upper Merion Township Police Department, 175 W. Valley Forge Rd., King of Prussia

• Upper Moreland Township Police Department, 117 Park Ave., and at the Giant Food

Store, 314 N. York Rd., both in Willow Grove

• Upper Perk Police Department, 88 W. 6th St., Pennsburg

• Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Department, 1420 Heather Place

• Upper Providence Township Police Department, 1286 Black Rock Rd., Oaks

• West Conshohocken Police Department, at West Conshohocken Borough Hall, 112

Ford St.

• West Norriton Township Police Department, 1630 W. Marshall St.

• West Pottsgrove Township Police Department, 980 Grosstown Rd., Stowe

• Whitemarsh Township Police Department, 616 E. Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hills

• Whitpain Township Police Department, 960 Wentz Rd., Blue Bell