FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2021

Contact: Natalie Golub, 973-382-4560, natalie@drugfreenj.org

New Jersey Families Challenged to Safeguard Their Home and Prevent Diversion and Rx Misuse

Free, Safe Medicine Disposal Locations Available Throughout the State

MILLBURN — On November 13, communities across the state will participate in the 13^th Annual American Medicine Chest Challenge – New Jersey (AMCC-NJ) Day of Awareness of Prescription Drug Abuse and Safe Disposal. This public health initiative was created by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) to help raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and empower families to safeguard their home through the 5-step challenge.

“The American Medicine Chest Challenge can help save the lives of our children,” said Angelo M. Valente, CEO of AMCC and Executive Director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. “We know that many teens who misuse opioids get them from the medicine cabinets of their friends and families, so it is crucial for families to safeguard medicine within their homes. The 5-step challenge include taking inventory of your medicine; securing your medicine chest; taking medicine only as prescribed; safely disposing of unused, unwanted and expired medicine; and, most importantly, talking to your children about the dangers of prescription drugs.”

The American Medicine Chest Challenge is the home of the national registry of permanent collection sites where people can safely dispose of their unwanted, expired and unused medicine. There are currently 220 sites in New Jersey and nearly 2,000 permanent disposal sites nationwide in 47 states and Washington, D.C. To find a site near you, visit the newly updated AmericanMedicineChest.com.

Recently, as part of the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day, PDFNJ, in collaboration with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the New Jersey Coordinator of Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies (NJCARES), distributed more than 900,000 bags to independent pharmacies across the state with information on the importance of safely disposing their unused, unwanted and expired medicine.

While opioid prescriptions have decreased in New Jersey in recent years, more than 2.6 million opioid prescriptions had been dispensed in the state through the first nine months of 2021.

“With the COVID pandemic limiting disposal opportunities over the past 18 months and overdose deaths reaching record highs, there is added urgency to safeguard and safely dispose medicine in the home by taking the American Medicine Chest Challenge,” Valente said.

AMCC-NJ is a project of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey with the support of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Covanta, the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey and the Opioid Education of Foundation of America.

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The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit whose mission is to educate New Jerseyans, especially young people, about substance use prevention. The Partnership’s public service advertising campaign is the largest in New Jersey history, earning 201 awards and more than $200 million donated in print space and broadcast time.