National Prescription Drop-off Map

Many who become addicted to opioids do so because of legitimate temporary or chronic prescription pain medication usage. Opioids are increasingly over-prescribed, both in frequency and in the amount of pills given per prescription. Many people are left with an unsafe amount of pills they were prescribed following a surgery or procedure. In order to prevent these pills from furthering someone’s addiction, safe prescription drop-off locations are crucial.

Many states and localities provide resources that explain how to safely drop off unused prescription medications, like this document from Alabama. Other places, like Arizona, have sought to make it even easier for those looking to drop off medications by mapping all the locations that accept old prescriptions. Maps are particularly useful in this case, because people can determine where best to drop off medications—they may not feel comfortable at a police station, for example, so they can find the nearest pharmacy—and plot their course to get there.

The National Prescription Drop-off map represents another comprehensive data gathering initiative that compiles information for people across the country. While incomplete, it is an easy dataset that many governments have started to map. Allied Against Opioid Abuse, an organization that provides education and awareness resources about the abuse of prescription opioids, has embedded the map in their own site to increase visibility around disposal locations.

Local governments hoping to provide this resource to their community can start maps of their own with information they have on hand, such as locations of police departments and sheriff offices, or they can embed the national map into their own awareness campaigns in order to take advantage of the mapped private businesses like pharmacies that accept prescription drugs.