Pullman residents will have a safe space to drop off any type of medication or prescription drugs they no longer need, as part of a new program starting this weekend.

Cougs for Recovery is hosting a Safe Medication Disposal event from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The event will be held at the Community Congregational United Church of Christ parking lot.

Rachel Oliver, Cougs for Recovery community mentor, said the student club is committed to raising awareness about substance abuse and how it affects mental health. They thought this event would help reduce the stigma around substance abuse and engage students to discuss this issue, she said.

“The goal of it is really to just promote mental health and try to help students who are in recovery or entering recovery,” Oliver said.

Cougs for Recovery partnered with the Pullman and Spokane police departments, who will help control and destroy the substances, she said.

“This is also an opportunity to destroy [the substances] in a safe way so they don’t kind of just keep circulating out there to be abused in ways that are not healthy,” Oliver said.

The event is free to the public, she said. Expired and non-expired medications are accepted, and prescription bottles are not required. Volunteers and other personnel will not ask questions or record people’s information.

Cougs for Recovery is planning to host this event every semester, she said.