Full Notification

On Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Asbury Park Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public its 15th opportunity in 7 years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.  Bring your pills for disposal to the Municipal Lobby located at 1 Municipal Plaza, Asbury Park, NJ 07712.  (The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.)  The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

Last fall Americans turned in 456 tons (912,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,300 of its state and local law enforcement partners.  Overall, in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 9 million pounds—more than 4,500 tons—of pills. 

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue.  Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Please Remember the collection site will not accept liquids, syringes or other sharp instruments. Please mark this date on your calendar and take part in this event and help us address the epidemic of addiction, overdose and death due to the abuse of prescription drugs, particularly opioid pain killers.

For further information or locations of other collection sites, please visit www.dea.gov or call our Community Relations department at 732-775-6124 or 732-272-5655. I urge everyone to take advantage of this initiative so that the unused or unwanted medication is disposed of properly and does not find its way into the wrong hands.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the April 28^th Take Back Day event, go to the DEA Diversion website