Lehigh Valley area to collect prescription drugs as part of National Take Back Day

Police departments locally and nationwide will be accepting unwanted drugs April 28.

View full sizeAP File PhotoPeople will be able to turn in their unused prescription drugs Saturday to authorities around the region.

Bring out your meds.

That's the message police departments across the nation are sending residents regarding their unused and unwanted prescription medications, as part of the fourth large-scale initiative of its kind.

Saturday marks this spring's edition of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's "National Take Back Day" initiative with participating sites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to the DEA's website.

Residents are urged to safely dispose of prescription pills by bringing expired and unwanted medications to their local police departments' collection sites, according to the DEA. Departments will collect the drugs, which will then be retrieved and destroyed by the DEA.

October's "Take Back" event netted 377,086 pounds nationwide.

The initiative's playful tagline "Got Drugs?" belies a serious aim: prevent prescription drugs from falling into the wrong hands. Hackettstown police spokesman Det. Darren Tynan said his department participates in the effort to help curb mounting cases of prescription drug abuse.

    "We know that prescription drugs are one of the most abused drugs now," he said.

Prescription drugs can easily fall into the wrong hands when left around the house, Tynan said. Abuse is a visibly growing problem, especially among teenagers, but he said the take back events have taken a lot of the drugs out of circulation.

    "We just think it's a great cause," he said.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said last week that past collections have helped raise prescription drug abuse awareness.

    "Members of the public already have been calling their police departments to ask when the next collection is," Martin said in a prepared statement. "People recognize that medicines can have significant therapeutic effects when taken properly, but can be detrimental when misused."

Various prescription drug possession arrests have been reported in the past few years, involving drugs obtained from medicine cabinets, fraudulent prescriptions and theft.

Warren County authorities three years ago busted a prescription drug ring that led to 43 arrests. In March, a Northampton County woman was indicted on nine counts of obtaining Vicodin and Ambien by impersonating an official from a doctor's office.

And a Paterson, N.J., woman appeared in Warren County Court Tuesday for allegedly trying to fill a forged Oxycodone prescription at a Greenwich Township pharmacy.

These instances are part of widespread prescription drug abuse, according to a release from the Philadelphia division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

In 2009, 7 million Americans ages 12 and older abused prescription drugs, according to the release. And prescription drugs are one of the most abused substances, second only to marijuana, according to a 2010 national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Those on the other side of the counter are also concerned about prescription drug diversion. Representatives of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association support Take Back initiatives, but urge prescription drug users to dispose of medications throughout the year, rather than holding onto bagfuls of pills.

    "We don't want patients saving all their medications for a special day," said association deputy vice president Sharon Brigner.

She said most medications can be thrown away and recommended pairing prescriptions in a bag with things like kitty litter or coffee grounds.

Most medications are given a two- to three-year shelf life, but exposure to moisture, sunlight or extreme temperatures can render certain drugs inactive.

• Belvidere Police Department: 691 Water St., Belvidere.

• Hackettstown Police Department: 215 Stiger St., Hackettstown.

• Mansfield Township Police Department: 100 Port Murray Road, Port Murray.

• New Jersey State Police Hope Station: Village Square Mall, Route 517, Allamuchy.

• Phillipsburg Police Department: 675 Corliss Avenue, Phillipsburg.

• Washington Township Police Department: 350 Hudson Avenue, Washington Township.

Hunterdon County

• Clinton Township Police Department: 1370 Route 31 North, Annandale.

• Flemington Police Department: 100 Main St., Flemington.

• High Bridge Police Department: 99 West Main St., High Bridge.

• Holland Township Police Department: 61 Church Road, Milford.

• Readington Township Police Department: 507 Route 523 Whitehouse Station.

Also nearby:

• Mount Olive Police Department: 204 Flanders Drailestown Road, Budd Lake.

• Washington Township Police Department (Morris County), 1 East Springtown Road Long Valley.

• Raritan Borough Police Department: 20 First St., Raritan.

Lehigh County

• Alburtis Police Department, 260 Franklin St., Alburtis.

• Catasauqua Police Department, 118 Bridge St., Catasauqua.

• Emmaus Police Department, 400 Jubilee St., Emmaus.

• Episcopal House, 1440 Walnut St., Allentown. Allentown police will collect medications.

• Fountain Hill Police Department, 941 Long St., Fountain Hill.

• Giant supermarket, 3015 W. Emmaus Ave., Allentown. Allentown police will collect medications.

• Giant supermarket, 216 E. Fairmont St., Coopersburg. Coopersburg police will collect medications.

• Lower Milford Township Police Department, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road, Lower Milford Township.

• Macungie Police Department, 21 Locust St., Macungie.

• Salisbury Township Police Department, 3000 S. Pike Ave., Salisbury Township.

• Slatington Police Department, 125 S. Walnut St., Slatington.

• South Whitehall Township Police Department, 4444 Walbert Ave., South Whitehall Township.

• Target, 912 Airport Center Road, Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Pennsylvania State Police will collect medications.

• Upper Macungie Township Municipal Building, 8330 Schantz Road, Upper Macungie Township. Berks-Lehigh Regional police will collect medications.

• Upper Saucon Township Police Department, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Upper Saucon Township.

• Westgate Mall, main entrance, 2285 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem. Bethlehem police will collect medications.

• Whitehall Township Police Department, 3731 Lehigh St., Whitehall Township.