Keep unused medications out of our lakes, our streams and the wrong hands by participating in VA Puget Sound’s Rx Take-Back Event

“Keeping unused medications out of our lakes, our streams and the wrong hands is important,” said VA Puget Sound Health Care System Associate Chief of Pharmacy Eric Chantelois. “By participating in VA Puget Sound’s Rx Take-Back Event, we can help you safely dispose of expired or unwanted prescriptions—including controlled substance medication—and over-the-counter drugs.”

VA Puget Sound opens its doors to public participation during its Rx Take-Back Event October 28, 2022, offering safe disposal options for the public (not limited to Veterans) in alignment with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency’s twice yearly National Prescription Drug Take Back Days.

Prescription and over-the-counter medications, including controlled substances and liquid medications, can be dropped off on Friday, October 28, 2022, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at these VA Puget Sound locations:

• In Tacoma: 9600 Veterans Drive Southwest in Building 81, Pharmacy Lobby (Room 1089)
• In Seattle: 1660 South Columbian Way in Building 100, Outpatient Pharmacy Lobby (Room 1D-145)

Illegal drugs, needles and sharps, medical devices or batteries, aerosol medications are not accepted.

Along with Rx Take-Back drop off locations offered by VA Puget Sound, people can find authorized collection sites by visiting the DEA Public Disposal Location search tool - https://apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main;jsessionid=bi8tyfAr0DKKVj9BfPcVLuITBNv99IgKHBMCUB_e.web1?execution=e1s1.

VA is committed to supporting the safe disposal of unused controlled substance prescription medications for our Veterans and we look forward to participating in public Take Back events. 

About VA Puget Sound Health Care System:

VA Puget Sound provides comprehensive care to approximately 156,000 Veterans across the Pacific Northwest—approximately 120,000 are enrolled with a primary care team at one of its 11 care sites: two main campuses (American Lake and Seattle), seven outpatient clinics (Edmonds, Everett, Mount Vernon, Olympia, Port Angeles, Puyallup and Silverdale) and two Community Resource & Referral Centers (Georgetown in Seattle and Renton). As the VA’s 4th largest research program, VA Puget Sound has research in virtually every major clinical department, including: TBI and multiple blast exposures; memory improvement and Alzheimer's Disease; PTSD and deployment health; Parkinson’s Disease; diabetes; cancer; substance abuse; lower limb prosthetics; genomics; and Health Services. Additionally, it has seven nationally recognized Centers of Excellence (in areas from limb-loss prevention and prosthetic engineering to primary care education and substance abuse treatment). For more information visit www.va.gov/puget-sound-health-care or call 800-329-8387.  For Veterans in Crisis, please use the Veterans Crisis line at 800-273-8255 (press 1).

Veterans who have not explored health care eligibility are encouraged to find out by visiting https://www.va.gov/health-care/eligibility/ or by calling 877-222-8387 to learn more.

Tami Begasse, Public Affairs Officer

Phone: