New Providence Police Host Drug Take Back Event On Saturday

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ — New Providence Police Department is hosting an Operation Take Back on Saturday. It is a day to dispose of your unused, unwanted, and expired medicine. All participants will remain anonymous.

The event will be held on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the New Providence Police Department, 360 Elkwood Ave., in New Providence.

Medication may be disposed in its original container or by removing it and disposing directly into the drug disposal box. Locals are encouraged to remove the prescription label.

Liquid products should remain sealed in their original container, make sure the cap is tightly sealed.

Syringes and other sharp objects are not accepted.

Operation Take Back is part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Division's mission to provide a safe and legal method for the citizens of New Jersey to dispose their unwanted, unused, and expired medicines.

"Each year, experts say, a growing number of teenagers quietly turn to a seemingly unlikely source to score drugs — their parents’ medicine cabinets. According to the most recent studies, Monitoring the Future, University of Michigan, between 1997 and 2007, treatment admissions for prescription painkillers increased more than 400 percent. In addition, between 2004 and 2008, the number of visits to hospital emergency department involving the non- medical use of narcotic painkillers increased 111 percent," the DEA reported.

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