Safely dispose of unneeded prescription drugs on October 29

Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and we’re proud to join thousands of sites across the country once again as a take back site. We welcome your patients and all members of our community to stop by between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to drop off their expired, unwanted or unneeded prescription medications for safe disposal.

During last year's Take Back event in April, we collected 304 pounds of medication and distributed 99 NARCAN^® kits at our Grand Rapids site.

Our drop off location:

Priority Health

3111 Leonard St NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Why hold Take Back events?

Take Back programs offer a safe way to dispose of unused prescription drugs. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue and can lead to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be dangerous when taken without a prescription or a provider’s supervision. Unused prescription drugs that are thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused by someone else. When flushed down the toilet, they contaminate our water supply.

Non-medical use of prescription drugs

Recently, there’s been an alarming increase nationwide in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lab testing reveals that 2 out of every 5 pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose and the number of DEA-seized counterfeit pills with fentanyl has jumped nearly 430% since 2019.

In Kent County, Michigan, data from 2021-2022 reveals that 81% of overdose deaths included opioids, with 89% of those deaths including fentanyl. Non-medical prescription drugs continue to comprise up to 13% of overdose deaths in Kent County.

Have patients affected by substance use conditions?

Contact our care coordination team

Our behavioral health department has clinical staff who specialize in helping members manage complex and chronic mental health and substance use conditions. Our care coordination team is available to support you as you help your patients get the outpatient care they need or successfully transition from a hospital setting back into the community.

Encourage your patients to log into myStrength

myStrength is a digital tool that offers over 1,400 self-directed activities on a variety of mental wellness topics including alcohol and drug recovery as well as opioid recovery. These tools are available to our members 24/7 and complement the care you provide them to create real, lasting change. Encourage your patients to sign up for a free account today.