The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, in conjunction with Actavis, unveiled a brand new prescription drug drop box at the Piscataway Police Department in Piscataway, NJ. (l-r) Linda Surks, NCADD of Middlesex County, Monique Y. Thompson, Piscataway Municipal Alliance, Captain Scott Cartmell, Piscataway Police Department, Alexandra Maldonado, Constituent Services Director – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., Lieutenant Michael McLaughlin, Piscataway Police Department,  Chief Richard L. Ivone, Piscataway Police Department, Captain Kenneth Blair, Piscataway Police Department, Angelo M. Valente, Executive Director, Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, and Mayor Brian C. Wahler, Piscataway Township.

For Immediate Release:

March 20, 2014

Angela Conover, Media Relations 201-916-1030 (c ) 973-467-2138 (office)   conover@drugfreenj.org

American Medicine Chest Challenge Provides Middlesex County Residents an Opportunity to Safely Dispose of their Unneeded Rx Medicines

MIDDLESEX COUNTY --- Middlesex County residents will have more opportunities to safeguard their homes from prescription drug abuse at a permanent American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) disposal box.

With the support and collaboration of Actavis, NCADD of Middlesex County, Piscataway Township Municipal Alliance Substance Abuse Task Force and New Jersey Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) – the parent organization of the American Medicine Chest Challenge, recently awarded the Piscataway Police Department with a permanent collection box for the disposal of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine, the 79^th permanent collection in the state of New Jersey. The box will be located at the Piscataway Police Department at 555 Sidney Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854.

According to AMCC Chief Executive Officer and PDFNJ Angelo M. Valente, “the goal of this community based public health initiative is to inform families of the importance of disposing excess medicines because they can be a danger lurking in the family home and provide a safe, convenient, and legal option for their disposal.”

“Actavis is proud to partner with the American Medicine Chest Challenge to raise awareness and educate consumers about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, and to underscore the importance of properly disposing of unused medications,” said Paul Bisaro, Chairman and CEO of Actavis.  “By providing a safe, secure location for the proper disposal of unused, expired or unneeded medications, disposal boxes such as these highlight our commitment to being a national leader in the fight against prescription drug abuse, and to serving as responsible corporate citizens in the communities in which we live and work.”

“The support of Actavis to this communities will help save lives by providing opportunities for Atlantic County families to safely dispose of potent drugs that have the potential to lead kids down a path to addiction,'' said Valente. “With the AMCC we are calling on 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,” he added.

Piscataway Police Chief Richard Ivone said, " Twice as many Americans regularly abused prescription drugs than the number of those who regularly used cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, and inhalants combined A growing number of teenagers quietly turn to a seemingly unlikely source to score drugs – their parents’ medicine cabinets. If you have items in your medicine cabinet, sometimes children or other family members might get their hands on them, and that can create an awful health risk.  “Some people out there are drug dealers, and don’t even know it.”

The goal of this program is to allow the citizens of New Jersey to deliver all of their unused, unwanted, or expired medications to law enforcement officials who can in turn dispose of these controlled substances in a safe and non-hazardous manner, preventing these pills from falling into the hands of juveniles or into the illicit market in our communities.

Piscataway Mayor Brian C. Wahler said, “Approximately 70% of people who abuse prescription drugs say they get them from the medicine cabinets of friends and relatives. This box allows easy access for people to rid themselves of unused, unwanted, and expired medicines that might otherwise fall into the wrong hands”.

“The American Medicine Chest 5-Step Challenge will help save the lives of your children,” Valente explained. He explained that disposal all permanent disposal locations can be found on AmericanMedicineChest.Com or through the AMCC RX Drop Mobile App.

The AMCC challenges families to take the Five-Step American Medicine Chest Challenge:

• Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine.
• Secure your medicine chest.
• Dispose of your unused, unwanted, and expired medicine in your home or at an American Medicine Chest Challenge Disposal site.
• Take your medicine(s) exactly as prescribed.
• Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labeled prescription drug abuse an epidemic, reporting that the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has more than tripled in the past decade and more than 40 people die every day from overdoses involving narcotic pain relievers. According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, 70 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers obtained them from friends or relatives, and, there has been a 400% increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for people abusing prescription drugs.

AMCC is sponsored by PhRMA, Actavis, The Partnership at Drugfree.org, the American College of Emergency Room Physicians, and Covanta Energy.

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