5-agency Drug Take Back event applauded as local success

Many participants had prescription drugs left over after the death of a relative or loved one.

Others had a mix of unused supplements, first-aid and health products that had accrued over time in a cabinet or closet.

One man said the large box of mixed medications and substances he brought for safe disposal at the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department probably had accumulated in his family household over a period of eight years.

A Santa Rosa woman said she’d gotten drugs after a surgery but had suffered a bad reaction and the pharmacy wouldn’t take them back.

Whatever their story, residents who attended Drug Take Back Days held Saturday at five police departments in Sonoma County knew to make sure their prescription and over-the-counter products didn’t end up in the landfill or local waterways.

They waited until they were aware of an opportunity to ensure the stuff was disposed of properly, filling lots of roughly 1-by-3-foot biohazard boxes provided by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration around the county as a result.

“We had more than we expected,” Sebastopol police Sgt. Cameron Fenske said of the event at his station. “We had a lot of people here, and we had two boxes that they provided to us, we filled those two boxes. We actually had more than that. We filled up half of a third.”

A Cloverdale Police employee said folks there filled three boxes, while those who brought excess drugs to Cotati filled two — delivering far less than the 400 pounds the agency once collected during the COVID pandemic, when it was the only local police department taking part and was “completely inundated,” Chief Michael Parish said.

Still, it collected 38 pounds of medication tablets Saturday, the department’s second Drug Take Back event this year, he said.

The DEA has been hosting regular Drug Take Back Days for more than a decade, providing disposal bins and pickup service to any agency that wants to participate. About 4,000 local law enforcement agencies were hosting four-hour drop-offs nationwide Saturday, including Petaluma, Cotati, Sebastopol, Cloverdale and Rohnert Park.

A key driver is the frequent theft and misuse of drugs stored in homes and later obtained by a friend or family member. But drugs improperly disposed of also can leach into the ground and get into the water. Drug drop-off events are one way to prevent that from happening.

In Cotati, “it wasn’t a big turnout,” Parish said, “but, in my opinion, still worthwhile to keep our medications out of our environment and waterways and keep drugs out of the reach of pets and children. So at Cotati, we’re committed to always participate in the DEA Drug Take Back.”

Results from Saturday’s event in Petaluma were not immediately available, but in Rohnert Park, residents filled nearly five bins, though many of them had come from Santa Rosa.

They included Helen Mackey, of Rohnert Park, who had medications from two people for whom she’d been a caregiver. “You can’t throw them in the garbage and you can’t throw them in the toilet,” she said.

Anita Migliore, a waste zero specialist at Recology of Sonoma and Marin, was finally getting around to taking care of medications left after her mother’s death more than a year ago.

“I work for the garbage company, so I’m really into the proper disposal of stuff,” she said.

The same was true of Santa Rosa resident Sharon King, who had recently lost her mother and was “just waiting for a chance to bring these somewhere.”

Police representatives said drug take-back boxes are located in most police station lobbies for disposal of drugs and over-the-counter medications any day of the week.

Departments with disposal boxes include Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Cotati and Cloverdale.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan (she/her) at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.