Cities around the country are gearing up for another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, but Juneau is not one of them.
That’s because the city and police department installed a drop-box for unwanted prescription medication at the police station last summer.
“Every day is national drug drop-off day for us,” JPD Lt. Kris Sell, who helped bring the drop-box to Juneau, said. “We think it’s a bigger problem than two days (a year for the event) can address.”
Sell said the drop-box at the Lemon Creek area station, 6255 Alaway Ave., has been successful — JPD has collected 131 pounds of medication for disposal since it was installed.
The police lieutenant said the substance abuse problem in Juneau called for a more permanent solution, such as the drop-box, rather than a twice-a-year event to collect expired, unwanted or unused medications.
Jim Penor, the city’s solid waste coordinator, agreed, saying the drop-box was needed to ensure people have a place to drop off their medication rather than flushing them down the toilet, ending up in the city’s water system.
Sell noted that when expired or unwanted prescription painkillers are kept around the house, they often fall into the wrong hands and feed addictions. She noted the station does not keep track of exact quantities for each drug left in the drop-box.
JPD’s Sell also noted that some people might need a refresher on what the drop-box is intended for exactly — excess prescriptions. She said she and others have found things in the box that don’t belong there, including expired boxes of condoms and mustache wax.
It’s free to drop-off meds at the station, and the drops can be made anonymously without talking to the JPD staff. Hours for dropping off medication matches the station’s lobby hours, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
