Drop Off Prescription Drugs at Briarcliff Manor PD

An announcement from the Briarcliff Manor UFSD:

A prescription drug drop off box is located in the entry lobby to the Briarcliff Manor Police Headquarters across from the Post Office. Prescription pills and capsules, prescription patches, vitamins, over the counter medications, samples, and even pet medications can be placed into the receptacle. No needles or sharps, spray cans or inhalers are allowed. The box is available from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. daily. The Briarcliff Manor Community Coalition encourages everyone to get unwanted medications, especially pain type and narcotics, out of their homes. This is an easy, safe, and convenient way to prevent teens from accessing prescription drugs.

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Many Americans are not aware that unused or expired medicines are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

Plus, everyone finally realized that the old recommendation for safely disposing of unwanted drugs down the toilet meant the stuff was getting into the nation's water supply. As the Natural Resources Defense Council points out:

Back in the day, we just flushed them away. Then we got the bad news—widespread contamination of streams by pharmaceuticals, according to a 1999-2000 study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Next, we learned from a 2008 investigation by the Associated Press that there were drugs in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans.

In New York, the state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, antibiotics, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer, according to DisposeMyMeds.org.

It's not legal just to toss them in the trash.