I am pleased to report that on Monday, the federal government opened up a new front in the struggle against opiate abuse. According to The Washington Post, hospitals, pharmacies, and other medical facilities will be allow to collect unused, unwanted, and expired prescription drugs. The effort is meant to increase the amount of places people can dispose of their prescription drugs and prevent them from ending up being abused by their children or out on the street.
Of course, we at the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey have known for several years now that the best way to keep our kids safe from prescription drug abuse is to allow people to dispose of their unused, unwanted, and expired prescription drugs safely. That’s why we started Operation Medicine Cabinet, hosted the National Day of Disposal, and are working everyday to add permanent drop boxes to our 1,000 locations across the country participating in the American Medicine Chest Challenge. In the past, due to federal regulation, our disposal locations had to be housed in law enforcement buildings.
No longer is this the case as a result of this new legislation.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey and the American Medicine Chest Challenge are excited about the potential collaborative opportunities that are now possible. In order to stop this epidemic in its tracks, we all need to come together to get these potentially dangerous substances out of our medicine cabinets and off the streets. The way we see it, the more places to dispose of our unused, unwanted, and expired prescription drugs, the better.
The government has given us new tools to succeed, now we the people need to make it happen.