PITTSBURGH- The Allegheny County Police Department will be participating in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Oct. 23.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has hosted this bi-annual event for years, making this the 21st year. This event gives people the opportunity to safely dispose of their expired, unused or unwanted pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications in an anonymous environment. To ensure anonymity, no questions or requests for identification will be made by the law enforcement personnel to anyone who wishes to participate.

“We have seen first-hand how drugs can devastate a person, a family and a community,” said superintendent Christopher Kearns. “Hosting the Drug Take Back Day twice a year provides residents with an opportunity to remove temptation from those who are struggling with addiction and ensure that medications do not end up being used by anyone else.”

The collection will be held on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be held at three different locations:

North Park Police Station

700 West Ridge Drive, McCandless

South Park Police Station

1801 Brownsville Road, South Park

Wilmerding Police Substation

315 Station Street, Wilmerding

Controlled substance or prescription-required drugs, as well as any over-the-counter drugs can be dropped off. Tablets, capsules, ointments, creams and liquids will also be accepted in packaging. There is no need to take substances out of their original packaging or containers.

Syringes and sharpies will not be accepted for safety reasons, and illicit drugs such as marijuana and methamphetamine are not part of the initiative and are therefore asked not to be placed in collection boxes.

According to Allegheny News, “The April 2021 event boasted 4,425 law enforcement agencies participating, 206 of which were in Pennsylvania. The collection netted 420 tons of medicines. In the history of the event, more than 7,262 tons of unwanted medicines have been collected by various partners with the DEA.”