Today, from 10 – 2PM, people throughout the state of Illinois will be cleaning out their medicine cabinets for the second Drug Take Back Day of 2019. Last fall, people turned in nearly 469 tons of prescription drugs at 6300 sites around the nation. The Jacksonville Police Department will be participating in the take back day. Chief Adam Mefford said it eliminates any temptation by anyone entering your home to steal drugs for addiction or to have a harmful situation happen in a home. He said it gives residents an opportunity to clean out old pain pill prescriptions, expired drugs, unwanted over the counter medications, and even old pet medications from the medicine cabinet. He said that some of the symptoms of the opioid epidemic can be traced back to common painkillers like hydrocodone, percoset, and others being left in family medicine cabinets for abuse.
Mefford says you don’t have to wait for the twice a year take back days anymore if you are an area resident. A 24 hour a day, 7 day a week drop box is located in the security of the police department’s waiting area at the Jacksonville Municipal building. Mefford says that residents can come in anonymously, no questions asked, and drop off unwanted medications in the drop box. He says it acts similar to a post office box. Mefford said that if residents come after business hours, a doorbell to police dispatch will allow residents to be buzzed in to drop off the medications.
No liquids, medical equipment, or syringes are able to be taken in the drop box, similar to the drug take back days. Mefford says that if you do have to dispose of these things, the police department will do its best to accommodate residents or point them in the right direction for proper disposal. If you live outside the Jacksonville area, you can use the Illinois Evironmental Protection Agency’s website to locate a collection site for drug take back nearest you.