Crush the Crisis: Old Prescriptions Go in the Bin, Not the Cabinet, at 13 Take-Back Sites Saturday
Methodist Healthcare's eighth annual Crush the Crisis runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at 13 collection sites across San Antonio, Boerne, Bulverde, Spring Branch and Helotes — anonymous, free, and timed to the DEA's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
San Antonians holding on to expired or unused prescriptions have a four-hour window Saturday to get rid of them safely. Methodist Healthcare is hosting its eighth annual "Crush the Crisis" prescription drug take back day on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 13 collection sites across San Antonio, Boerne, Bulverde, Spring Branch and Helotes. The event coincides with the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and offers residents a way to dispose of medications safely and anonymously before they fall into the wrong hands, Methodist Healthcare said in its announcement.
The nine San Antonio sites are Methodist ER Alamo Heights on East Basse Road, Methodist ER City Base on Southeast Military Drive, Methodist ER De Zavala, Methodist ER Nacogdoches, Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant on Floyd Curl Drive, Methodist Hospital Texsan on IH-10 West, Methodist Hospital Westover Hills on West Loop 1604 North, and the CareNow Urgent Care locations on West Hildebrand Avenue and Southeast Military Drive. The outlying sites are Methodist ER Boerne, the Bulverde Police Department, Bulverde Spring Branch Fire and EMS, and Methodist ER Helotes on Bandera Road.
Law enforcement officers at the sites will collect tablets, capsules and patches — including hydrocodone, oxycodone, tramadol, codeine, fentanyl patches, morphine, hydromorphone and oxymorphone — and will also accept ointments, lotions, drops, liquid medication in leak-proof containers, vape cartridges without batteries and pet medication. Needles, syringes, lancets and loose liquids will not be accepted. Methodist Healthcare said that over the past seven years it has safely collected more than 6,200 pounds of unused medications, including 2,000 pounds in 2025 alone.
The drive runs against a national backdrop the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration puts at an estimated 7.2 million people age 12 or older who misused prescription pain relievers in 2025. Methodist Healthcare lists the full site addresses and hours on its Crush the Crisis page and at (833) 582-1970.
