Saturday, April 30th is the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) National Drug Take Back Day. The Windham County Sheriff's Department and West River Valley Thrives would like to take this time to raise awareness about proper storage and disposal of prescription medications (Rx). This initiative gives Vermont residents the opportunity to prevent prescription drug abuse and theft by ridding their homes of expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Please keep in mind the DEA cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches. Collect your expired or unused Rx pills or patches in their original bottle or place them in a disposable bag. Be sure to remove or cover your personal information. Anonymously drop your pills and patches in an Rx drug drop box near you. Last year, the Windham County Sheriff''s Department collected 79.87 pounds of unused medications, which equals the weight of a small sofa.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug misuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Additionally, simply throwing unused medicines in the trash or flushing them down the toilet risks environmental harm, theft, and poses a public health hazard.

Bring your medications for disposal to any of the following locations:

• Windham County Sheriff's Office - 11 Jail St, Newfane
• Messenger Valley Pharmacy- 170 Grafton Rd, Townshend
• Brattleboro Police Dept.- 62 Black Mtn Rd #101, Brattlerboro
• Brattleboro Memorial Hospital- 17 Belmont Ave, Brattleboro
• Bellows Falls Police Dept.- 170 Rockingham St, Bellows Falls
• Wilmington Police Department- 2 E. Main St, Wilmington
• Dover Police Department- 245 VT 100, Dover

All locations listed have permanent drop boxes located in their lobbies, and boxes are available for pill disposal during open lobby hours, no questions asked. Please note, these locations may have fluctuating hours. Please call ahead to confirm hours.

If you are unable to make it to a physical drop box and would like a postage paid bag to dispose of your unwanted prescription via mail in a medication safe envelope, please email Elisha Underwood, West River Valley Thrives Communications and Outreach Specialist, at wrvthrives@gmail.com.

Talk with family and friends and share these resources. Together, we can create healthy and safe communities. Learn more at https://www.windhamrx.org/