Dispose of Drugs
Twice each year, hundreds of grassroots Arkansas Take Back collection drives are hosted in communities across Arkansas by local law enforcement agencies. The collection drives enable residents to anonymously drop off unused and expired medications and prescriptions for proper and safe disposal.
Many law enforcement offices, police stations, sheriffs’ offices and pharmacies also house secure and permanent Take Back collection boxes year-round where anyone can anonymously dispose of medications, prescriptions and illicit drugs.
Find a Dropoff Site
Arkansas Drug Take Back drop-off boxes are available to the public around the state year-round at places such as pharmacies and law enforcement agencies, where unused and expired medications can be anonymously deposited into secure Take Back boxes.
Additionally, each spring and fall, local law enforcement agencies host secure, anonymous and, often, drive-thru collection events at sites across the community.
Use the map below to find an Arkansas Drug Take Back drop-off site near you.
Permanent sites are in red, and Event sites are in blue.
Maintain a Take Back Box
Maintaining your site’s permanently installed collection kiosk is important – and easy!
- If your kiosk has a stainless steel finish, clean it monthly with an old-based stainless-steel cleaner.
- If your kiosk has a powder-coat finish, clean it monthly with warm, mild soap detergent and rinse it well with water.
- Use powered graphite or lock lubricant to smooth lock operation.
Cleaning instructions courtesy of American RX Group.
Monitor • Secure • Dispose
Do
- Place prescriptions in a safe, locked container
- Record the time and dosage when you take or administer medication
- Ask your doctor how to safely take your medications
- Talk to your doctor about managing pain
- Be prepared for appointments with your physician
- Dispose of unneeded prescriptions in a Take Back box
- Keep naloxone with you, especially if you are currently taking opioids for pain management
- Reach out to a trusted healthcare professional if you have a dependency on or are concerned about having a dependency on opioids
- Recognize that substance misuse and abuse is a disease and shouldn’t be stigmatized
- Look out for your friends, family and colleagues who may be struggling with pain, grief, stressors and depression
Do Not
- Take more than what is prescribed and as directed
- Assume your family members are educated about opioids
- Keep medication in unsecure locations or accessible on countertops for others – including pets – to accidentally ingest. (Prescription and OTC medications are one of the most common causes of pet poisonings.)
- Forget to clean up spilled medication
- Throw medication in the trash
- Dump medication down the sink
- Flush medication down the toilet. Water treatment plants are not able to remove medications from our water supply.
- Forget to record dosage
- Assume older adults and their caregivers understand all the side effects of opioids
- Stigmatize substance misuse and abuse
