BATON ROUGE - Capital Area Human Services is encouraging residents to get rid of unused medication through its 'Be a Hero, Get to Zero' campaign.

People are asked to drop off expired and unused medications to secure prescription drop boxes across the area. Locations include certain Walgreens stores, police and sheriff's offices, and certain pharmacies.

"The campaign is a critical prevention initiative as part of the community-wide response plan to the opioid epidemic," said Dr. Jan Kasofsky, executive director of CAHS. 

The campaign encourages residents to "be a hero" by getting rid of the medication to prevent misuse which could lead to overdoses or addiction.