The Cortland County Drug Take Back Event is this Saturday, April 24 at 4 locations. Bring any of your unused, unneeded, prescription, and/or nonprescription drugs and you can drop them off without leaving your vehicle. COVID precautions will be in place.

The 4 Convenient Drive Through Locations are: 

Cortlandville Fire Station, 999 Route 13, Cortland, from 9am – 1pm

Marathon High School, 1 Park St., Marathon, from 9am – 12pm

Cincinnatus Fire Dept., 5722 Telephone Rd., from 9am – 12pm

Homer Town Hall, 31 North Main St., Homer, from 9am – 12pm

Rates of prescription drug misuse in the United States are consistently high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that a majority of misused prescription drugs are being obtained from family and friends, including those from home cabinets. 

According to the 2020 youth survey of Cortland County 7th-12th graders, of students who report using prescription pain relievers in their lifetime, the most common place they reported accessing them was at home. 

The Cortland County Drug Disposal Program was created to address this growing concern for unused prescription and over-the-counter medication. When prescription medications are easily available they can be used for purposes other than their original intent, increasing the chances of misuse. Flushing unused medicines down the toilet or crushing them and mixing them with coffee grounds or kitty litter was once the preferred method of disposal. Unfortunately, studies have now found that these methods of disposal are no longer safe for the environment. For many years, partners across the community have been working on opioid prevention. This partnership between Cortland Prevention Resources, law enforcement, CACTC and community volunteers is responsible for the disposal of thousands of pounds of unsure prescription medications, in order to ensure they are kept out of the hands of youth and are safely disposed of.

In addition to the twice Annual Take Back Event there are 5 permanent kiosks to dispose of medications at your convenience. 

Five Medication Drop-Box Locations:

• Cortland County Sheriff’s Office, 54 Greenbush Street 
  • Monday-Sunday, 24hrs
• City of Cortland Police Department, 25 Court Street
  • Monday-Sunday, 24hrs
• Village of Homer Police Department, 43 James Street
  • Monday-Friday 8am-4pm
• Guthrie Cortland Medical Center ER, 134 Homer Ave
  • Monday-Sunday, 24hrs
• SUNY Cortland Police Department, 4 Pashley Drive (Whitaker Hall)
  • Monday-Sunday, 24hrs

For more information on drug disposal, visit the Drug and Sharps Disposal Page.