PUEBLO, Colo. — The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office will host three locations for citizens to drop off their expired, unwanted, or unused prescription drugs on Saturday, April 30th as part of the National Drug Take Back event.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 30th, Pueblo County Sheriff’s deputies will be at the following locations to collect unwanted prescription medications anonymously, to be disposed of in a safe manner:

• Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office West Sub-Station, 320 Joe Martinez Boulevard
• Pueblo Rural Fire Station, 29912 U.S. Highway 50 East (between Wago Drive and 30th Lane)
• Valley Health Mart Pharmacy, 4493 Bent Brothers Boulevard, Colorado City

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back was started by the Drug Enforcement Administration to get unused or outdated drugs out of homes so they won’t be misused or abused. Studies show that many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Drug take backs provide a safe alternative to flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, both potential safety and health hazards.

Items that cannot be accepted at the Drug Take-Back are: needles and sharps, mercury thermometers, oxygen containers, chemotherapy/radioactive substances, pressurized canisters, and illicit drugs.

If you can’t make it to the Pueblo take back event but have medications you’d like to dispose of, you can visit CDPHE’s Colorado Household Medication Take-Back Program for a map of drop off locations across the state of Colorado.