Students from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy will partner with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Kanas City Police Department on April 26 for National Drug Take Back Day, promoting safe drug disposal and educating the public about the dangers of prescription drug use.

“This is a great day for the public to clean out their medicine cabinets and get rid of unused and unwanted medication,” said TJ Pham, a UMKC Doctor of Pharmacy student, Class of 2016, and student volunteer coordinator for the event. “Safe disposal is really important when we want to prevent things like opioids getting into the hands of abusers.”

UMKC School of Pharmacy students will be collecting medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at the following Kansas City locations:

• CVS Pharmacy, 2435 E. Independence Ave.
• CVS Pharmacy, 11124 Holmes Road
• Mattress Firm, 3215 Main St.

Medications accepted include inhalers, over-the-counter medications and controlled substances including Xanax, Percocet, Norco and Adderall. Needles aren’t accepted.

“Last year, the UMKC School of Pharmacy was recognized as the best school in the region (consisting of pharmacy schools in Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas) for the best student volunteer program combating prescription drugs abuse,” said Russell Melchert, dean of the UMKC School of Pharmacy. “The school is proud to serve the community.”