SEA ISLE CITY– On November 13, the Sea Isle City Police Department participated in the American Medicine Chest Challenge, a one day effort to safely collect and dispose of unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs. A national program that allowed residents to stop by police headquarters and anonymously drop-off medications at no charge, the challenge netted over 20 pounds of prescription drugs in Sea Isle City alone.
According to SICPD Sgt. Tom McQuillen, organizer of the collection in Sea Isle City, dozens of local residents took advantage of the drug drop-off, which was the first of its kind on a national level.
“Many people were very happy with the availability of this disposal program,” said McQuillen. “With the success of this event and our recent prescription drug collection in September, it is safe to assume that there will be more collections like this in the future. The importance of properly disposing of prescription drugs is finally getting the national attention it deserves.”
McQuillen added that simply flushing medications down the drain hinders the sewage treatment process, and throwing drugs away with normal household trash is also not advised due to the fact that drugs are “up for grabs” once they are in a trash can or on the curb.
“Many people are surprised to learn that teens and other young people occasionally abuse prescription drugs that they find at home,” added McQuillen. “Securing medicine cabinets and safely removing unneeded drugs from homes is very important.”
For many of the residents who participated in the program on November 13, it was a reassuring way to dispose of drugs that are no longer needed.
“We recently lost our cousin, who was taking a variety of medications before she died,” said Jennie Hadfield, a full-time Sea Isle City resident. “This drug collection event gave us a good reason to clean out our medicine cabinets. This was a very convenient way to get rid of these drugs.”
Following the prescription drug collection, all of the collected medication was transported to the Cape May County Sheriff’s Department, who in turn sent the drugs to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, where they will be incinerated.
To learn more about the American Medicine Chest Challenge, visit http://www.americanmedicinechest.com. To contact the Sea Isle City Police Department, phone (609) 263-4311.
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