Evesham police hold event to safely dispose of medicine
If you’ve got containers of expired, unused painkillers taking up real estate in your medicine cabinet, the Evesham Police Department will help you part ways.
As part of the inaugural statewide medicine disposal day, residents with Ritalin and neighbors with naproxen can dump any unused pills Nov. 14 at the Evesham Township Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The drugs will be collected by the Evesham Police Department, then taken to the prosecutor’s office on their way to the custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drugs collected won’t be subject to potential abuse, said Evesham Police Sgt. Bruce Higbee.
According to Higbee, the DEA and the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, in cooperation with the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, formulated the idea, and sent information to local police departments asking for cooperation. As of Oct. 27, about 250 municipalities along with their respective police departments will hold a medicine disposal day Nov. 14.
“After taking a look at the plan, and reading the literature, I thought it was a great idea,” Higbee said. “Anybody who’s not using a medication in their homes could be subject to an abuse situation. It’s beneficial to them and us.”
Higbee said no questions will be asked, and added that no one will be turned away.
The event is something of a preventative action. Higbee said while there is narcotic abuse in Evesham Township, there aren’t specific complaints of prescription drug abuse.
“We don’t really see [it],” he said. “We’re no different from any other town, though. I don’t think it’s a real big issue, but we do have our problems like any other town.
“For the people that have [drug] issues, it takes that option out of their hands.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, “illicit drug use has declined among youth, but rates of nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter medication remain high. Prescription medications most commonly abused by youth include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and depressants.” It goes on to say that prescription and OTC drugs are “widely available, free or inexpensive, and falsely believed to be safer than illicit drugs.”
Higbee said any drugs that aren’t being used, and are thrown away, have the potential to save some lives.
Careful disposal of medication also prevents the chemicals in them from seeping into communal water supplies.
The Evesham Township Municipal Building is located at 984 Tuckerton Road, Marlton.
As part of the inaugural statewide medicine disposal day, residents with Ritalin and neighbors with naproxen can dump any unused pills Nov. 14 at the Evesham Township Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The drugs will be collected by the Evesham Police Department, then taken to the prosecutor’s office on their way to the custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drugs collected won’t be subject to potential abuse, said Evesham Police Sgt. Bruce Higbee.
According to Higbee, the DEA and the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, in cooperation with the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, formulated the idea, and sent information to local police departments asking for cooperation. As of Oct. 27, about 250 municipalities along with their respective police departments will hold a medicine disposal day Nov. 14.
“After taking a look at the plan, and reading the literature, I thought it was a great idea,” Higbee said. “Anybody who’s not using a medication in their homes could be subject to an abuse situation. It’s beneficial to them and us.”
Higbee said no questions will be asked, and added that no one will be turned away.
The event is something of a preventative action. Higbee said while there is narcotic abuse in Evesham Township, there aren’t specific complaints of prescription drug abuse.
“We don’t really see [it],” he said. “We’re no different from any other town, though. I don’t think it’s a real big issue, but we do have our problems like any other town.
“For the people that have [drug] issues, it takes that option out of their hands.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, “illicit drug use has declined among youth, but rates of nonmedical use of prescription and over-the-counter medication remain high. Prescription medications most commonly abused by youth include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and depressants.” It goes on to say that prescription and OTC drugs are “widely available, free or inexpensive, and falsely believed to be safer than illicit drugs.”
Higbee said any drugs that aren’t being used, and are thrown away, have the potential to save some lives.
Careful disposal of medication also prevents the chemicals in them from seeping into communal water supplies.
The Evesham Township Municipal Building is located at 984 Tuckerton Road, Marlton.
