Local authorities are reminding citizens that the Drug Take Back day in coming up this Saturday, October 28 at two locations.

Lt. Sean Kochanowski with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office tells KSAL News that deputies will be on hand this Saturday from 10am to 2pm at the Dillon’s Grocery Store at 1235 E. Cloud and at Walmart, 2900 S. 9th to collect unwanted and expired medications.

Lt. Kochanowski says last April, over 440 pounds of medications were collected at drop off locations. The event is part of a nationwide effort to safely dispose of leftover medications to prevent accidental or intentional misuse.

Since the Drug Take-Back Day program began in 2010, more than 118 tons of unwanted medications have been collected and destroyed in Kansas alone.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates opioid overdoses kill 130 Americans every day. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, pharmaceutical opioids are a leading cause of drug poisoning deaths in Kansas.

Lt. Sean Kochanowski with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office displays a pile of unwanted meds

collected during the April 2023 event.