They’re hiding in the backs of medicine cabinets across Michigan: drugs that no one needs, and that could pose a risk to children, teens, adults and the environment.

A free event on Saturday, Oct. 27 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will make it easy to get rid of them. 

At 60 locations across the state that day, Michiganders can bring old, expired or just unneeded medicines to a convenient location to drop off, and drive away knowing they’ll be properly and safely destroyed.

The statewide effort is made possible by local partnerships between hospitals, pharmacies, community organizations, police departments and the University of Michigan’s Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN).

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.

Take-back events aim to reduce the number of homes that have opioid painkillers on hand, as well as other medicines that shouldn’t be kept around because of the risk of abuse – and shouldn’t be dumped in the trash or down the toilet either.

The October 27 events will be held at:

Benzie County:

• Honor: HomeTown Pharmacy, 10587 Main St.

Berrien County:

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

Calhoun County:

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

Cass County:

• Cassopolis: Cass County Sheriff’s Office, 321 M-62
• Dowagiac: Silver Creek Township Hall, 32764 Dixon St.
• Dowagiac: Pokagon Tribal Health Center, 58620 Sink Rd.
• Dowagiac: Family Fare Supermarket, 56151 M-51
• Edwardsburg: Ontwa Township Edwardsburg Police Department, 26296 E. Main St.
• Marcellus: Marcellus Township Hall, 13163 Marcellus Hwy
• Niles: Howard Township Hall, 1345 Barron Lake Rd.
• Niles: Niles MSP Post, 1600 Silverbrook Ave.

Clare County:

• Clare: MidMichigan Medical Center – Clare, 703 N. McEwan St.

Crawford County:

• Grayling: The Medicine Shoppe, 500 N. James St.

Delta County:

• Escanaba: OSF St. Francis Hospital, 3401 Ludington St.

Genessee County:

• Flint: Ascension Genesys PACE, 412 East 1st St.

Gladwin County:

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

Grand Traverse County:

• Traverse City: Munson Community Health Center, 550 Munson Ave.

Houghton County:

• Houghton: Houghton County Sheriff’s Office, 403 E. Houghton Ave.

Jackson County:

• Jackson: Center for Family Health, 505 N Jackson Street

Kalamazoo County:

• Kalamazoo: Bronson Methodist Hospital, 601 John St.

Keweenaw County:

• Eagle River: Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Department, 5105 4th Street

Lenawee County:

• Clinton: Village of Clinton Police Department, 322 E. Michigan Avenue

Livingston County:

• Pinckney: Pinckney Town Square Park, East Main Street

Macomb County:

• St. Clair Shores: St. Germaine Catholic School, 28250 Rockwood St.

Marquette County:

• Marquette: Westwood Mall (parking lot) – Marquette, 3020 US 41.

Mason County:

• Ludington: Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, 1 N. Atkinson Dr.

Monroe County:

• Monroe: ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital, 718 N. Macomb St.

Oakland County:

• Commerce: Commerce Township Fire Department Station #2, 9170 Commerce Rd.
• Pontiac: Pontiac General Hospital, 461 W. Huron St.
• Pontiac: St. Joseph’s Mercy Health, 44405 Woodward Ave.
• West Bloomfield: Lakes Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, 2300 Haggerty Rd.; view flyer
• Wixom: Wixom Police Department, 49045 Pontiac Trail

Oceana County:

• Shelby: The Ladder Community Center, 67 N. State St.

Ogemaw County:

• West Branch: Michigan State Police – West Branch Post, 496 E. Houghton Ave.

Ontonagon County:

• Ontonagon: Ontonagon County Sheriff, 620 Conglomerate St.

Otsego County:

• Gaylord: Otsego County Building, 225 W. Main St.

Ottawa County:

• Grand Haven: North Ottawa Community Hospital, 1309 Sheldon Rd.
• Holland: Holland Public Health, 12251 James St.
• Holland: Holland Hospital, 602 Michigan Ave.
• Holland: Walgreens, 494 Butternut Dr.
• Hudsonville: Hudsonville Fire Department, 3275 Central Blvd.

Saginaw County:

• Saginaw: Covenant Healthcare, 800 Cooper St.

St. Clair County:

• Port Huron: St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, 1170 Michigan Rd.
• Port Huron: Sail In Cafe & Convenience Store, 722 McMorran Blvd.

Van Buren County:

• Mattawan: Antwerp Township Hall, 24824 Front St.
• South Haven: Bronson South Haven Wellness Center, 950 Bailey Ave.

Washtenaw County:

• Ann Arbor: St. Francis Catholic School, 2270 E. Stadium Blvd.
• Chelsea: Chelsea Retirement Community, 805 W. Middle St.  *9:00am-1:00pm; view flyer
• Dexter: Monument Park, Baker Rd. at Main St.; view flyer(link is external)
• Milan: Milan Police Department, 35 Neckel Ct.
• Saline: Saline Police Department, 100 N. Harris St.
• Whitmore Lake: Northfield Township Community Center, 9101 Main St.
• Ypsilanti: West Willow Community Resource Center, 2057 Tyler Rd.

Wayne County:

• Flat Rock: Flat Rock City Hall, 25500 Gibraltar Rd.
• Livonia: St. Mary’s Mercy Health, 36475 Five Mile Rd.
• Northville: Northville Health Center, 39901 Traditions Dr.
• Redford Township: Redford Police Department, 25833 Elsinore St.
• Wayne: Beaumont Hospital, 33155 Annapolis St.

Wexford County:

• Cadillac: Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital, 400 Hobart St.

More information: http://michigan-open.org/

Also on October 27, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Take Back Initiative includes takeback events at law enforcement locations around the country. Find one here.

Some law enforcement and pharmacy locations take unused medications back year-round - find a map created by the U-M team here: http://michigan-open.org/takebackmap/

Facts about prescription drug misuse:

• 70% of the opioids prescribed for surgery go unused, making them vulnerable to diversion and misuse
• Every 10 minutes a child visits the emergency room for medication poisoning
• Three in five teens say prescription pain medication is easy to get from their parents’ medicine cabinet