{"id":606708,"date":"2026-04-26T02:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/606708\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T02:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:45:07","slug":"drug-take-back-day-minnesotans-drop-off-pounds-of-medications-as-officials-urge-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/606708\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug Take Back Day: Minnesotans drop off pounds of medications as officials urge actions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesotans turned in bags of old medications Saturday as part of\u00a0National Prescription Drug Take Back Day<\/a>, an effort aimed at keeping unused prescriptions out of homes and the wrong hands.<\/p>\n

There were drop\u2011off sites across the state. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS talked to people at two locations \u2014 one that the Ramsey County Sheriff\u2019s Office hosted in St. Paul outside the Midway Target, and the other that the Hennepin County Sheriff\u2019s Office hosted in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota\u2019s Off\u2011Campus Safety Center in Dinkytown.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people are coming with one small bag and others are coming with five or six bags, because they\u2019ve just been waiting for a place to dispose,\u201d said Jonessa Wisniewski with Ramsey County\u2019s Opioid Prevention and Unified Services Coalition (OPUS).<\/p>\n

Along with pills, used syringes were also collected.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwice a year we do see and bring in 400 pounds or more of syringes, needles and medication from people,\u201d Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n

Everything collected is sealed, weighed and prepared for safe disposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m dropping off some medication that I no longer need, and it\u2019s out of date, and it\u2019s a good place to do that,\u201d said Dennis Gerharstein, who stopped by one of the sites.<\/p>\n

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Minnesota\u2019s twice\u2011a\u2011year Take Back events collected thousands of pounds in 2025:<\/p>\n

Oct. 25, 2025:\u00a08,850 lbs. of medicationApril 26, 2025:\u00a010,496 lbs\u00a0of medicationPast 29 Take Back Days:\u00a0310,289 lbs. collected statewide<\/p>\n

The DEA says the goal of Take Back Day is simple: clear out unused, expired or unneeded prescriptions before they can be misused and encourage families to make safe disposal a year\u2011round habit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also encourage families to use this day as a time to sit down together and have conversations about the consequences that can come from prescription misuse, as well as the dangers that can come from taking a pill of unknown origin. For families with young children, it\u2019s an opportunity to talk about prescription safety \u2014 only taking pills given by a trusted adult, or showing little children how similar candy and medication can often look. Let\u2019s raise awareness and make the most of this day to not only clean out our medicine cabinets and drawers but also to start or continue the dialogue on prescription drug safety,\u201d said a DEA spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Lt. Jeremy Gunia with the Hennepin County Sheriff\u2019s Office said clearing out medicine cabinets is more than routine housekeeping.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnwanted and unused prescription drugs can sometimes fall into the hands of unwanted people, and it can lead to drug abuse,\u201d Gunia said.<\/p>\n

Federal and state data show why events like this matter. The\u00a0Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration<\/a>\u00a0(SAMHSA) reports that opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and morphine are among the most commonly misused prescription pain medications.<\/p>\n

According to Minnesota\u2019s\u00a0Dose of Reality<\/a>\u00a0campaign, those drugs have killed more than 3,500 Minnesotans in the last 15 years \u2014 nearly 70% of them involving medications that were prescribed. The agency reports prescription drug misuse can be a gateway to street drugs.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Fentanyl on the rise in Minnesota<\/a><\/p>\n

The DEA also warns about the rise of counterfeit pills. In 2025, DEA lab testing found that 29% of counterfeit pills contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl \u2014 down from 76% the year before, but still considered a major threat.<\/p>\n

For college students, the timing of the event is especially relevant.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we\u2019re entering finals time right now, and sometimes people use medications or alcohol to numb some of that as a repair for finals,\u201d said Nicholas Juarez with the UMN Department of Public Safety. \u201cBut again, this is just another opportunity for students to be aware that there are safe ways to dispose of unwanted medication instead of misusing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramsey County officials echoed that message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like to say if you are absolutely not using those medications, or even if they\u2019re expired, get them out of your house so kids or adults, neighbors, friends are not exploring,\u201d Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n

Beyond collecting old prescriptions, agencies also focused on education. Ramsey County\u00a0gave out naloxone nasal kits, the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.<\/p>\n

HCSO\u00a0handed out deactivation bags called\u00a0Deterra<\/a>\u00a0that neutralize pills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s charcoal in here that deactivates the opioids or the drugs. It can hold up to 45 pills, so they can take it home. They can put the pills in there, add some water, you swish it around, and then you\u2019re able to throw this just right in the garbage,\u201d Gunia explained.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement also reminded people what not to do with old medications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been told you can\u2019t flush it down the toilet, don\u2019t throw it in the trash, and there\u2019s really no other way to get rid of it,\u201d Juarez said.<\/p>\n

This year marks the 30th Take Back Day. The next one is in October.<\/p>\n

Help and support resources<\/p>\n

SAMHSA\u2019s National Helpline: a free, confidential, 24\/7 treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental or substance use disorders. Call 1\u2011800\u2011662\u2011HELP (4357)\u00a0for support in English or Spanish.<\/p>\n

9\u20118\u20118 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: available 24\/7 for anyone experiencing emotional distress, mental health struggles, or concerns related to alcohol or drug use. Call or text 9\u20118\u20118\u00a0to connect with trained counselors.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor Related Stories:\u00a0Drugs<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Kamaria Braye<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Prescriptions<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesotans turned in bags of old medications Saturday as part of\u00a0National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an effort…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[2605,97,213034,90116,243,5200,263709],"class_list":{"0":"post-606708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-drugs","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-hennepin-county-sheriffs-office","11":"tag-kamaria-braye","12":"tag-medication","13":"tag-prescriptions","14":"tag-ramsey-county-sheriffs-office"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}