Lenexa residents can drop off unused or expired prescription medications at a drive-thru collection lane Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Lenexa Justice Center.
The Lenexa Police Department announced the event on X, saying a drive-thru lane will be set up in the front parking lot. The drive-thru is from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at 17371 Prairie Star Parkway.
The collection is part of the 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, coordinated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Nationally, the DEA and more than 4,300 law enforcement partners will operate the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to a DEA press release. More than 4,400 collection sites will be open across the country.
"Since 2010, Take Back Day has helped Americans remove more than twenty million pounds of unneeded medications from their homes," DEA Administrator Terry Cole said in the release. "By participating in Take Back Day, you are preventing potentially addictive medications from falling into the wrong hands."
The program accepts tablets, capsules, patches and other forms of prescription medications.
Prescription opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine are among the most frequently misused prescription pain medications, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Removing unneeded medications from the home reduces the risk of misuse or accidental ingestion, the DEA said.
Residents who cannot make the Oct. 24 event can find year-round disposal options at more than 15,300 pharmacies, hospitals and businesses nationwide, the DEA said. The agency's site finder at DEATakeBack.com lists registered collection locations.
