Medicine Drop Box

Project Medicine Drop

The Allendale Police Department has a drop box in the lobby of the Police Department to collect expired, unused or unneeded prescription medications at any time. This box has been provided by the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs. The Police Department encourages anyone wishing to anonymously dispose of medications to stop in and use it. 

The facts and statistics about prescription drug abuse are staggering:

• Every day, 40 Americans die from an overdose caused by prescription painkiller abuse, according to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control. Overdoses of opioid prescription drugs now kill more people in the U.S. than heroin and cocaine combined.
  
  
• Two in five teenagers mistakenly believe prescription drugs are “much safer” than illegal drugs, according to the DEA, and three in 10 teens mistakenly believe prescription painkillers are not addictive.
  
  
• In the United States, every day 2,500 youths take a prescription pain reliever for the purpose of getting high for the very first time, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
  
  
• The US Drug Enforcement Administration reports that prescription drugs, including opioids and antidepressants, are responsible for more overdose deaths than “street drugs” such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
  
  
• The number of American teenagers and adults who abuse prescription drugs is greater than those who use cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, compiled by the US Department of Health and Senior Services.
  
  
• In June 2011, the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation reported that a growing number of young people are abusing prescription drugs, and noted a significant trend in which the practice has led to increases, not only in the number of young people addicted to painkillers, but to the number of young people using heroin as well.

For more information: Police Department Prescription Drug Drop Box: Project Medicine Drop