Full Notification

Pine Hill Police Department
Taking Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs
October 26, 2019 at Police Headquarters

 

The Pine Hill Police Department will be participating in the DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration Take Back Event on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10:00am until 2:00pm. The event will be held at the Police Administration Building located at 48 West Sixth Avenue. The Department will be providing a safe and legal method for the residents of Pine Hill and surrounding jurisdictions to dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medication. Information will also be available for local drug addiction support services and Operation SAL.

 

Last fall Americans turned in nearly 469 tons (more than 937,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 17 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 11.8 million pounds—approximately 5,900 tons—of pills.
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This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

 

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the October 26th Take Back Day event contact D/Sgt. Field at [email protected] or 856-783-1549 x 426 or email [email protected]

 

Since 2012, the Pine Hill Police Department has provided residents with a drug drop box as part of the Department’s effort to combat the opiate addiction epidemic. The Department has recently joined the NJ Attorney General’s Project Medicine Drop, which in addition to the permanent drop location; the department’s new portable drug drop box will be available at many of the community outreach programs. Project Medicine Drop Box is located at the Police Administration Building. Residents may visit the Pine Hill Police Department at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to dispose of their unused or excess medications.

 

Project Medicine Drop is an important component of the Pine Hill Police Department and NJ Attorney General’s effort to stop the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs, including highly addictive opiate painkillers.