A police station has a new drug drop box. Learn how you can dispose medications safely. 

IDAHO FALLS — A new blue box at a local police station provides another option for the community to drop off no longer needed medications. 

The Idaho Falls Police Department, at 775 Northgate Mile, has a “drug drop box” right through the front doors. 

“The drug drop box is a secure location for people to dispose of unused or expired prescription medication,” said Idaho Falls Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Clements. “We are glad to have this option available for people in our community through the police station.”

Clements explained people sometimes don’t know what to do with leftover medication or how to dispose of it securely. 

“There’s this common thing that we see happening where, for example, grandma or grandpa will have a variety of prescriptions that have been given to them over the years, and they will keep them in a medicine cabinet. It might be that a relative or a teenager or a child will get into the medicine cabinet and either intentionally or unintentionally get into something they shouldn’t,” Clements said. 

According to the American Medical Association, 70% of opioids prescribed for surgery go unused.

The box was installed in November. It was made possible by partnering with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

There is also a drug drop box at the Bonneville County Law Enforcement Building at 605 North Capital Avenue. It’s been there for several years, Clements said. The Idaho Falls Police Department and Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office shared the box when IFPD used to be located there. 

The two law enforcement agencies additionally partner with Eastern Idaho Public Health for drug take-back day events, which Clements said happens twice a year: once in April and once in October. The events are well attended. She told EastIdahoNews.com the one that recently occurred in October collected 230 pounds of drugs. 

The DEA began the national prescription drug take-back day initiative in 2010 to provide easy, anonymous opportunities to remove medicines in the home that are highly susceptible to misuse and theft, a news release from Eastern Idaho Public Health said. 

The drug drop box at IFPD is just another option if people don’t want to wait for the drug take-back day events. It will also be permanently at the police station. 

“You make your deposit, then you close it, and then it goes into this secured box. We empty it regularly, and we store anything that has been turned in in a secure space, and then we get it to the DEA for destruction and disposal,” Clements explained. 

Here’s what’s accepted in the box: 

• Prescriptions (Schedule II-V controlled and non-controlled substances)
• Vitamins 
• Prescription ointments
• Pet medications 
• Prescription patches 
• Over-the-counter medications 

Here’s what’s not accepted in the box: 

• Needles 
• Inhalers
• Aerosol cans
• Thermometers 
• Lotions or liquids 
• Hydrogen peroxide 

“People can come anytime (to drop off), whenever it’s convenient for them,” Clements said. “We recommend taking the label off of your medication that has your personal information on it or use a sharpie and scratch it out.”