The Osage County Sheriff’s Office will participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. This bi-annual event offers free, anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide.

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office, 131 W. 14th St., Lyndon, Kan., will serve as a drop off point on Drug Take Back Day. Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells reminds citizens that medications are also accepted at the sheriff’s office any time during business hours.

“Disposing of unneeded medications can help prevent drugs from being misused,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Overdose deaths continue to hit tragic record highs. I encourage everyone to dispose of unneeded prescription medications now.”

A report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says a majority of people who misused a prescription medication obtained the medicine from a family member or friend. For more than a decade, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unneeded medications – those that are old, unwanted, or no longer needed – that too often become a gateway to addiction. Working in close partnership with local law enforcement, Take Back Day has removed more than 15 million pounds of medication from circulation since its inception. These efforts are directly in line with DEA’s priority to combat the overdose epidemic in the United States.

DEA and its law enforcement partners collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illicit drugs will not be accepted. DEA will accept vaping devices and cartridges provided lithium batteries are removed.

For more information, see www.DEATakeBack.com.