Drop Off Unwanted Prescription Medicine At Bernards Twp. Police Dept. Saturday

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Bernards Township police department is taking back unwanted prescription drugs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of Operation Take Back, a national initiative sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Unwanted prescription pills and patches may be brought to the Bernards Township Police Department at 1 Collyer Lane.

Liquids, needles, and sharps will not be accepted.

Last April, Americans turned in nearly 900,000 pounds of prescription drugs at almost 5,400 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 11 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 6.4 million pounds — about 3,200 tons — of pills.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse, authorities said. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or the Take Back event Saturday, call the department at (908) 234-0585.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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