Operation Medicine Cabinet: Where to drop off expired medicines

Far Hills Police will be hosting an Operation Medicine Cabinet New Jersey local collection site as part of the first statewide medicine disposal day in the nation. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Far Hills Police Department, 6 Prospect St.

This initiative, open to all residents, was organized to encourage local community residents properly dispose of their unused, unwanted and expired medicine.

This statewide effort, with more than 250 participating New Jersey police departments, is being spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division (DEA), the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ).

Chief Hartman said the Far Hills Police Department has already started collecting expired prescription medicines. If you can’t make it or need assistance, Hartman said to call the department and an office can visit residents' homes. Call 908-234-1992.

"This operation will reduce the availability of potent drugs that lead kids down a path to addiction,'' New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said.  "We can't break a cycle of dependence if powerful prescription drugs are stashed in our own homes, tucked away in drawers and cabinets."

“With Operation Medicine Cabinet, we are calling on New Jersey residents to see their medicine cabinets through new eyes — as an access point for potential misuse and abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medicine by young people,” explained Angelo M. Valente, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey.

According to McAleer and Valente, the 2007 study by the National Study of Drug-Use and Health, 70 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), reports that upwards of 9 million people use prescription medication for non-medical uses. They noted that the 2007 Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) Principals Survey found that half of the principals surveyed said that prescription drugs are abused more than twice that of ecstasy and cocaine by New Jersey middle school students.

“What is equally disturbing, is that 47 percent of New Jersey parents of middle school students said they know a little or just about nothing about prescription drug abuse, according to the 2009 PDFNJ Parents Tracking Survey,” Valente said.

Other drop-off locations in the Somerset Hills include:

Bedminster: Town Hall, 1 Miller Lane, Bedminster. 908-234-0585.
Bernards: Police headquarters, 1 Collyer Lane. 908-766-1122.
Bernardsville: Police headquarters, 166 Minebrook Road. 908-766-0037.
Far Hills: Police headquarters, 6 Prospect St. 908-234-1992.
Peapack-Gladstone: Municipal building, 1 School St. 908-234-0626.