Sheriff’s Office will accept old or outdated medications Drug Drop program: Environmentally friendly way to dispose of medications

Note: The Sheriff's Office will not accept medications from commercial establishments

Monroe County -  The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone about the Drug Drop Program, an environmentally friendly way to dispose of medications that are old, outdated or no longer needed.

County-wide, citizens may bring no-longer-needed prescription drugs and other medications in for disposal, or call and someone will pick the medications up for disposal. It should be noted, the program does not accept needles or liquid medications.:

·         In the Upper Keys, medications will be accepted at the Roth Building on Plantation Key and the Islamorada Substation Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. For pickup, call 305-853-3211 or 305-664-6480 during office hours.

·         In the Middle Keys, the Marathon Substation will accept any medications Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For pickup, call 305-289-2430 during office hours.

·         In the Lower Keys, citizens can drop off medications at the Freeman Substation on Cudjoe Key Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or call 305-745-3184 for pickup; medications can also be dropped off in the first floor lobby of the Sheriff’s Headquarters building during business hours.

People who call to have medications picked up can do so with no questions asked. "Our goal here is to dispose of this stuff properly, not to catch people with illegal pills," said Captain Gene Thompson, Commander of the Lower Keys District.

Proper disposal of prescription and over the counter medications is important. Flushing them down the toilet or sink can introduce dangerous and environmentally damaging substances into the water system; throwing them away in the trash can also introduce them into the environment, and runs the risk of them winding up in the wrong hands. The medications collected by the Sheriff’s Office are burned by Detective Sgt. Bobby Randolph, who operates the Sheriff's Burn Unit and who holds a special license to burn narcotics.