The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office participated in the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 25, hosting collection sites at Kendall Library and Birch Bay Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents were invited to drop off unused, unwanted, or expired prescription medications for safe disposal, no questions asked.
Take Back Day is a twice-yearly national program coordinated by the Drug Enforcement Administration to provide communities with a safe and anonymous way to clear out old medications that might otherwise end up flushed down the drain, thrown in the trash, or diverted into misuse. Saturday's event marked the latest installment of a program that has collected hundreds of millions of pounds of medications across the country since it began in 2010.
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office has been a consistent partner in Take Back Day efforts over the years. Deputies staff collection sites across the county, including locations in the more rural areas north and south of Bellingham that don't always have easy access to pharmacy drop-off boxes. Kendall, located in the upper Nooksack Valley east of Lynden, and Birch Bay, a coastal community south of Blaine, are both underserved in terms of year-round drug disposal infrastructure, making the temporary collection sites a meaningful service for those neighborhoods.
The goal of the program is straightforward: prescription medications that sit unused in medicine cabinets are a leading source of drug misuse, particularly among teenagers who gain access to opioids, stimulants, and sedatives at home. Flushing medications contaminates waterways, and tossing them in household trash leaves them accessible. Secure disposal through law enforcement collection sites eliminates the risk entirely.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown issued a statement ahead of Saturday's event encouraging statewide participation. Brown noted that the state Department of Health also maintains a list of year-round medication disposal sites for residents who missed Saturday's window or who have ongoing disposal needs.
The Whatcom County opioid crisis context makes events like this particularly relevant locally. Whatcom County, like many communities across Washington, has seen significant impacts from prescription drug misuse and the transition to illicit fentanyl that followed. While Take Back Day doesn't directly address illicit drug supply, reducing the number of unused prescriptions circulating in homes is one of the evidence-based prevention strategies public health officials consistently recommend.
For those who missed yesterday's event, year-round drop boxes are available at many pharmacies and at the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office main facility. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office can direct residents to the nearest permanent collection point.
The DEA holds Take Back Day twice annually, typically in April and October. Residents who have medications to dispose of but missed Saturday can also check the national collection site locator at dea.gov/takebackday for any remaining drop-off windows in the region. For related Whatcom County public safety coverage, the Sheriff's Office search and rescue volunteer recognition during National Volunteer Week was covered here.
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office has not released totals for how much medication was collected at Saturday's sites. The DEA typically publishes national and regional collection figures after each Take Back Day event.
