National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day This Saturday

National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day This Saturday

Poughkeepsie … Dutchess County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro encourages the public’s participation National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, April 27th. Residents are encouraged to dispose of all unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs safely and anonymously at any of the 10 permanent drop-off locations at law enforcement facilities throughout Dutchess County.

This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in collaboration with Health Quest, drug collection drop boxes will be located at Northern Dutchess Hospital, located at 6511 Springbrook Avenue in Rhinebeck; Mid-Hudson Plaza, 3434 North Road in Poughkeepsie, across from Marist College; and Dover Elementary School, 9 School Street in Dover Plains.

Representatives from the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and the Dutchess County STOP-DWI Program will be on hand at Mid-Hudson Plaza and Dover Elementary School, encouraging residents to utilize the 10 medication drop boxes located throughout Dutchess County – not just on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, but every day – and distributing information about the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program. The Village of Rhinebeck Police Department will similarly be on hand at Northern Dutchess Hospital.

County Executive Molinaro said, “Every resident can take a simple step to help curb the opioid crisis, the public health epidemic of our lifetime. Cleaning out your medicine cabinet, collecting medications that are no longer needed and safely disposing them at one of Dutchess County’s many secure drop boxes will keep them away from someone who might abuse them. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is a great opportunity for residents to familiarize themselves with these drop boxes, which are available year-round.”

Medications steadily accumulate in the home, where the vast majority are improperly discarded or stored indefinitely. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medications, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, posing safety and environmental hazards.

In 2018, a total of 3,324 pounds of medications were collected at the 10 countywide drop-off locations, Office for the Aging senior picnics and other public collection events, and destroyed. Since the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program was launched in 2014, more than 12,550 pounds of unwanted or unneeded medications have been safely collected and destroyed.

By allowing residents to anonymously dispose of unused and unwanted prescription medications throughout the year at permanent medication disposal sites, the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box Program proactively addresses drug abuse throughout the County.

The following drop-off locations are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

• Dutchess County Law Enforcement Center, 108 Parker Avenue, Poughkeepsie

• New York State Police, Troop K Headquarters, 2541 Route 44, Salt Point

• City of Beacon Police Department, 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon

• East Fishkill Police Department, 2468 Route 52, Hopewell Junction

• Hyde Park Police Department, 3 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park

• Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department, 19 Tucker Drive, Poughkeepsie

• Wappingers Falls Police Department, 2628 South Avenue, Wappingers Falls

Additional drop-off locations are accessible during the following days/hours:

• Village of Millerton Police Department, 21 Dutchess Ave., Millerton
   o Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, noon-midnight; Sunday, 4 p.m.-midnight

• Village of Red Hook Police Department, 7467 South Broadway, Red Hook
   o Daily, 8 a.m. to midnight

• Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Pawling Substation, 9 Memorial Avenue, Pawling
   o Residents can call (845) 486-3000 to make arrangements for drop-off

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is an effort to address vital public safety and health issues and an opportunity to highlight current programs targeting the growing epidemic of drug overdoses. Over the past eight years, more than 10 million pounds of expired, unused and unwanted prescription medications have been collected nationwide at National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events.

National Prescription Take-Back Day offers collection sites for this event throughout the United States; a list of collection sites can be found at http://www.dea.gov.