Bernards Township Police Department and Municipal Alliance Join the Effort.
Community in Crisis, in partnership with the Bernards Township Municipal Alliance, announced that the 15th National Prescription Drug Take-Back will take place Saturday, April 28th from 10 am-2 pm at the Bernards Township Police Department. Residents can take advantage of a drive-through drop off at the Police Department at 1, Collyer Lane in Basking Ridge. Accepted items include solid medications, pills, patches, inhalers, and similar objects. Medical waste (including oxygen tanks) or syringes cannot be accepted.
As with previous Take-Back events, sites will be set up throughout communities nationwide so local residents can return their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal. The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue by focusing on removing potentially dangerous drugs from our nation’s homes, and providing an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceuticals and other medications to law enforcement officers for proper disposal. “Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are disturbingly high,” said Dr. Gail Granowitz, an anesthesiologist and co-chair of the Community in Crisis physicians’ task force. “Home medicine cabinets that contain unused and expired prescription medicines are particularly susceptible to misuse or abuse. In conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s national effort, we’re focused on the proper, safe disposal of all types of controlled, non-controlled, and over the counter medications.” Officer Tracy Baldassare, Bernards Township Police Department, added that the program is strictly confidential. “No questions or requests for identification will be made by law enforcement personnel present,” she said. “In fact, participants are asked to remove any personal information from bottles or packages.”
According to a recent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.5 million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs. According to the Partnership for a Drug Free America, approximately 2,500 teens use prescription drugs daily to get high for the first time.
Community in Crisis began in 2013 following the overdose deaths of two young adults in the Somerset Hills community. The organization, a coalition of community agencies, organizations, schools, churches and concerned citizens, offers bi-weekly support groups for families struggling with addiction, innovative educational opportunities in the school environment, medicine take-back days, town hall meetings, and more.
Programs and events are held at the Community Hub in Bernardsville which has been funded, in part, by the Horizon Foundation of New Jersey.
Additionally, Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and the Horizon Foundation have partnered with Community in Crisis to produce and scale out an evidence-based community toolkit for implementation by communities across NJ.
For more information or to get involved, please contact Community in Crisis at info@communityincrisis.org.
