Let Drug Take Back Day be a part of your spring cleaning

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – It’s time to clean out your medicine cabinet for Drug Take Back Day this weekend.

The Zanesville-Muskingum Health Department has partnered with Genesis Healthcare System, Behavioral Health Choices, and the Muskingum County Sheriff’s Office for a prescription drug drop-off drive-through. On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can visit the health department to dispose of substances and items that can be hazardous to keep at home.

“It’s a very good collaboration from the agencies in our area and you know it’s really a simple process for anybody to bring drugs in on this day. You don’t have to get out of your car,” Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz said. “You can take the labels off of your, your pill bottles or you can leave them on knowing that we’re going to take them off. We do recycle the pill bottles once the labels are taken off and destroyed and so you literally can drive in. We’ll have a flock of people come out to your car. If it’s up front, you can hand it out the window. ”

A second drop-off location is available at Riesbeck’s in South Zanesville. According to Lutz, between the April and October Drug Take Back Days in 2025, over 200 pounds of prescription drugs were surrendered to be properly disposed.

“I think the positive to it is just getting rid of stuff that you don’t need in a safe manner and it’s free to do that. And so, I think the benefits, obviously, it’s better for our community, it’s a lot safer for the folks to not have it sitting there that someone might want to, for example, break in and steal it from your residence,” Lutz said.

The Zanesville-Muskingum Health Department is located at 205 North 7th Street. If you miss Drug Take Back Day, you can still dispose of medications through the permanent drop-off location at the Muskingum County Jail, or keep an eye out for October’s Drug Take Back Day.