Keep your medications from being misused
Sixty-seven percent of people who misuse prescription medications get them from friends and family and only 5 percent of children who misuse prescription medications say they get them from a stranger, a drug dealer or the internet.
Securing your medication in your home and properly disposing of leftover medications can keep them from being misused. Further safeguard your medications by monitoring the quantities through frequent checks to see if anything is missing.
Medication lockboxes and locking pill bottles are readily available at pharmacies and online vendors.
Visit More Powerful NC or Lock Your Meds NC to learn more about keeping your medications from being misused.
Properly dispose of leftover medications
The safest and most environmentally responsible way to keep leftover medications from being misused is to take them to a secure take-back location. These are often in pharmacies and law enforcement buildings. Some communities will also hold occasional “take-back” events.
Alliance has compiled an interactive map featuring safe disposal sites reported by a variety of reputable sources. Note that this map may not be comprehensive.
Enter your address to find the nearest safe disposal location to you:
Search Location
Loading...If you prefer, you can access these locations directly via the links below:
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- The DEA has a zip code search tool that includes pharmacies, hospitals and clinics, but does not list law enforcement locations: https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e1s1
- The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) Foundation’s AwareRX map-based locator uses use a zip code or your current location to return a map of nearby pharmacies and law enforcement locations. https://nabp.pharmacy/initiatives/awarxe/drug-disposal-locator/
- The National Community Pharmacists Association’s (NCPA’s) Dispose My Meds map-based locator tool finds disposal sites located in community (i.e. non-chain) pharmacies. http://disposemymeds.org/medicine-disposal-locator/
- The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators’ (NADDI’s) map-based search tool lists drug take-back locations at municipal law enforcement agencies. http://rxdrugdropbox.org/map-search/
- The American Medicine Chest Challenge’s map-base locator lists drop off locations in law enforcement agencies. http://www.americanmedicinechest.com/
- Walgreen’s map-based locator lists safe medication disposal kiosks in Walgreens pharmacy locations. Kiosks are available during regular pharmacy hours. https://walgreens.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=53cf1b54abf34c4bacdec863e5c56391
If there are no drop-off sites near you
FDA: Where and How to Dispose of Unused Medicines
If you cannot get to a drop-off site, there are home disposal options for unneeded medications. Several products exist that can deactivate drugs and make them safe to dispose of with household trash.
We have a limited supply of DisposeRx drug disposal packets available for distribution.
Order your own DisposeRx packet
How does a disposal packet work?
DisposeRx packets are easy to use and highly effective. Simply add warm water to the pill vial, add the DisposeRx powder, and shake. The contents solidify within 10 minutes. Then simply discard the vial in the trash. Learn more about disposing of leftover medications with DisposeRx.
Watch a video on how to use DisposeRx packets.