On Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office along with the police departments of Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta, Waldoboro, and Wiscasset will host the semi-annual Drug Take Back Day.

There will be five drop-off locations in Lincoln County: Boothbay Harbor Town Office; LincolnHealth, Miles Campus in Damariscotta; Sheepscot Valley Health Center in Coopers Mills; Waldoboro Town Office; and the Wiscasset Police Department

This medication disposal event has been offered every spring and fall for the last eight years with a goal to prevent prescription drug misuse and theft. Everyone is invited to bring in expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for safe disposal, no questions asked. This national event is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency, local law enforcement and community health partners. The service is free and anonymous.

The DEA can accept all unused, unwanted or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications. This includes pills, liquids, ointments and patches. The DEA cannot accept needles, other sharps, syringes, electronic devices or devices with mercury.

Last April, 426 pounds of prescription drugs were returned to Lincoln County disposal sites. Over the course of the last nine years, the state of Maine has collected over 380,000 pounds of medication at these events, the ninth highest in the country. These high numbers show that Maine is committed to disposing unused medications to reduce misuse, abuse, and accidental overdose.

“Flushing medications or disposing of them in the trash can be damaging to our natural resources. It’s also not safe to hang on to old medications as they could get in the hands of our youths, and even our pets. On Drug Take Back Day you can quickly and discreetly dispose of medications at one of the drop off locations, no questions asked,” says Jess Breithaupt, project coordinator at Healthy Lincoln County.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Take Back Day event, go to the DEA Diversion website or call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 882-7332.