It’s spring cleaning time, time to get rid of clutter and make a fresh start. That goes for medicine cabinets, too -- especially in the face of a growing epidemic of misused prescription drugs such as opioid painkillers.

On Saturday, April 27, Michigan residents in 34 counties will get a chance to clear unused and expired prescription medicines out of their medicine cabinets, through 53 simultaneous events.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., hospitals, pharmacies, community organizations, and police departments around the state will take unneeded medications back at the locations listed below.

The statewide effort is made possible by local partnerships with the University of Michigan’s Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN).

Last fall, more than 3,000 pounds of medication, including approximately 40,000 opioid pills, were rounded up for proper disposal through a similar statewide effort. More information about the takeback program is available at http://michigan-open.org.

The April 27 medication take-back events will be held at:

Alpena County:

Alpena: Alpena County Sheriff Department, 320 Johnson St.

Antrim County:

Elk Rapids: Elk Rapids Fire Department, 209 Bridge St. 

Bay County:

Bay City: Covenant MedExpress, 2919 Wilder Rd. 

Berrien County:

Niles: Lakeland Medical Suites, 42 North St. Joseph Ave.

St. Joseph: Lakeland Center for Outpatient Services, 3900 Hollywood Rd.

Calhoun County:

Battle Creek: Bronson Battle Creek Hospital, 300 North Ave.

Cass County:

Niles: Lakeland Medical Suites, 42 North St. Joseph Ave.

Clare County:

Clare: Mid Michigan Medical Center Clare, 702 North McEwan St.

Eaton County:

Charlotte: Eaton County Sheriff Department, 1025 Independence Blvd.

Genesee County:

Burton: Ebenezer Ministries, 2130 Center Rd.

Flint: Powers Catholic High School, 1505 West Court St.

Gladwin County:

Gladwin: Mid Michigan Health Center Gladwin, 515 Quarter St.

Hillsdale County:

Hillsdale: Hillsdale County Sheriff Office, 165 Fayette St.

Jackson County:

Jackson: Center for Family Health, 505 N. Jackson St.

Kalamazoo County:

Kalamazoo: Bronson Kalamazoo Hospital, 601 John St.

Kent County:

Grand Rapids: Spectrum Health Healthier Communities, Widdicomb Building, 665 Seward NW.

Keweenaw County:

Eagle River: Keweenaw County Courthouse, 5105 4th St..

Lapeer County:

Lapeer: Lapeer City Police Department, 2300 West Genesee St.

Lenawee County:

Clinton: Village of Clinton Police Department, 322 East Michigan Ave.

Livingston County:

Pinckney: Pinckney Town Square Park, E. Main at Howell St. 

Whitmore Lake: Northfield Township Community & Senior Center, 9101 Main St.

Mason County:

Ludington: Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, 1 North Atkinson Dr.

Monroe County:

Monroe: ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital, 718 North Macomb St.

Montmorency County:

Atlanta: Montmorency County Sheriff Department, 11045 M-32.

Newaygo County:

Fremont: Fremont Fire Department, 101 East Main St. #2

Grant: Grant Fire Department, 62 West State Rd.

Newaygo: Hometown Pharmacy, 226 82nd St.

White Cloud: Family Health Care, 1035 East Wilcox Ave.

Oakland County:

Commerce Charter Twp: Commerce Fire Station, 9170 Commerce Rd. 

Ferndale: FernCare Free Clinic, 751 E. 9 Mile Rd.

Pontiac: St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, 44405 Woodward Ave.

Wixom: Wixom Police Department, 49045 Pontiac Trail.

Oceana County:

Hart: Oceana County Council on Aging, 621 East Main St. 

Ogemaw County:

West Branch: Michigan State Police, West Branch Post No. 32, 496 East Houghton Ave.

Ontonagon County:

Ontonagon: Ontonagon County Sheriff’s Office, 620 Conglomerate St.

Ottawa County:

Grand Haven: Health Pointe, 15100 Whittaker Way.

Holland: Meijer, 746 East 16th St.

Hudsonville: Meijer, 4075 32nd Ave.

Zeeland: Spectrum Health Zeeland Community Hospital, 8333 Felch St.

Presque Isle County:

Rogers City: Presque Isle County Sheriff Department, 267 North 2nd St.

Roscommon County:

Houghton Lake: Michigan State Police, Houghton Lake Post No. 72, 9011 West Lake City Rd.

Saginaw County:

Saginaw: Covenant Healthcare, 800 Cooper Ave. 

St. Clair County:

Port Huron: Sail In Cafe & Convenience Store, 722 McMorran Blvd.

Van Buren County:

South Haven: Bronson Wellness Center, 950 South Bailey Ave.

Washtenaw County:

Ann Arbor: St. Francis Catholic School, 2270 East Stadium Blvd.

Chelsea: St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, 775 South Main St. 

Dexter: Monument Park, 8000-8558 Ann Arbor St. (next to the gazebo) 

Milan: Milan Police Department, 35 Neckel Ct.

Saline: Saline Police Department, 100 North Harris St.

Whitmore Lake: Northfield Township Community & Senior Center, 9101 Main St.

Ypsilanti: West Willow Community Resource Center, 2057 Tyler Rd.

Wayne County:

Detroit: Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers Rd. 

Grosse Pointe: Grosse Pointe Central Library, 10 Kercheval Ave. 

Livonia: St. Mary Mercy Livonia 36475 Five Mile Rd.

Michigan-OPEN has created a free manual to help groups hold community opioid and medication take-back events, and provide a safe process for disposing of unused medications in order to protect communities, children and the environment.

Also on April 27, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Take Back Initiative includes takeback events at law enforcement locations around the country. Find one at https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/

Facts about prescription drug misuse:

The United States is currently experiencing an epidemic of prescription drug misuse and abuse. Since 1999, overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled. Every day, 130 Americans die from an opioid-related overdose – more than the number of people killed in car accidents or by guns.

Every 10 minutes a child visits the emergency room for medication poisoning, and 12.5 million people age 12 and older misused opioids in the last year. Three in five teens say prescription pain medication is easy to get from their parents’ medicine cabinet.