FREEPORT — FHN Family Counseling Center, the Freeport Police Department, and Stateline Area Crime Stoppers are partnering with the State of Illinois and local and national law enforcement agencies to give the public a chance to help prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. 

Bring pills for disposal between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 24 to the Freeport Police Department, 320 W. Exchange Street in Freeport. (The site cannot accept liquids or needles/sharps, only pills or patches.) This will be a drive-through collection event and proper COVID-19 precautions will be taken. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. 

Unused prescription medications thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Dumping or flushing unused medications down the drain or toilet can contaminate the groundwater supply. The best way to dispose of old medications is to bring them to a take-back event. The last National Drug Take Back Day, held Oct. 24, 2020, resulted in 492.7 tons of drugs being safely disposed of at 4,587 sites across the United States.

For more information on National Drug Take Back Day, including safe disposal instructions, year-round sites and resources to prevent prescription medication misuse, visit www.fhn.org/sup.