"Take Back NJ" Collection Day

PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bernie Weisenfeld- PIO
Phone: (856) 384-5617; Pager (856) 251-4736
Re.: “Take Back NJ” collection day

Law enforcement agencies throughout Gloucester County and New Jersey will be accepting drop-offs of expired or unwanted prescription medications on Saturday (4/30) in the third annual effort to remove commonly-abused substances from homes.

All Gloucester County police departments, the county Sheriff’s Office and the Rowan University Police department will staff collection locations for “Operation Take Back New Jersey” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Collection boxes will be placed at each police headquarters and sheriff’s officers will staff a site at the County Store in the Deptford Mall. Residents can drop off medications anonymously, with no questions asked. Labels on medicine vials can be peeled off, inked out, or the drugs can be placed in a plastic bag.

The collection program addresses a well-recognized problem of abusing or misusing prescription medicine, especially among the young. A 2009 national survey found more Americans abuse prescription drugs than those using cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined.

The state program is organized by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, in partnership with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the state Association of Chiefs of Police, the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking program, the New Jersey National Guard. Gloucester
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County’s coordinator for the effort is Det. Danielle Lorusso, an officer with the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.

Statewide, drop-offs totaled more than 9,000 pounds of unwanted medicines in 2009 and more than 14,400 pounds last year. In the first nationwide effort last year, Americans turned over 121 tons of medications.

“Every law enforcement agency in the county will be participating in this important event,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton. “They recognize that most young people who misuse prescription drugs report that they obtain them from family or friends. They mistakenly believe they are safer than street drugs.”

“Help keep your home safe and prescription drugs from ending up in the wrong hands by properly disposing of them at one of the drop-off sites,” said Gloucester County Freeholder-Director Robert M. Damminger. “If you have un-needed or expired prescription drugs, bring them to your local police department, the County Store or other participating locations.”

Collection locations can be found by going to the Web site www.dea.gov and clicking on the “Got Drugs” banner at the top of the home page.