New Rx Drop Box Allows for 24/7 Drug Disposal

With just 10 days open, a 24/7 drop box for prescription drugs in the Merrimack Police Department lobby has already garnered 15 pounds of disposed of drugs, Merrimack Police Capt. Michael Dudash said on Friday morning.

The metal box, similar to a post office drop box, is available for residents any day or time to drop off unused and unwanted prescription drugs, a measure police say they hope will contribute to reducing the use of prescription drugs for recreational purposes around town.

Dudash said they regularly arrest people around town who are in possession of just one or two pills that are practically untraceable and often come from a parent's medicine cabinet. Merrimack Police Officer Tom Prentice, who helped develop the Merrimack Safeguard Program and is the school resource officer at Merrimack Middle School added that eighth-graders across the nation have used Xanax more than alcohol and tobacco.

The drug box takes a step further the semi-annual drug take back days the town has been participating in the last few years, as part of the US Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control National Take Back Initiative.

The most recent collection day, on April 27, netted more than 240 pounds of prescription drugs and put the town over 1,000 pounds collected since they started the program. Prentice said it puts them as a leader in the state of most pounds of prescription drugs collected during these initiatives.

The collection box is thanks in large part to an $800 donation provided to the police department by Beyond Influence, a program of the United Way of Greater Nashua and a partner with Merrimack Safeguard.

“We were thrilled to be able to come up with the money to help make this happen,” said Donna Arias with Beyond Influence.

The drug box is a supplement to the drug take back days, which the town will continue to do, but with the box, people do not have to wait until a date certain to dispose of the medication. It can also be used, Police Chief Mark Doyle said, to drop off drugs of the non-prescription kind that parents may find around their homes.

It is a no questions asked drop off box, though Dudash said, it does have to be monitored by a camera per DEA regulations. Residents who drop of prescription, or otherwise, drugs will not be penalized. To that end, Target has applied for at $2,500 grant for the Merrimack Police Department for a new camera to replace a 30-year-old camera in the police department lobby that is being used to monitor the box at this time. He said they expect to hear on that sometime soon.

It's important to note, Town Councilor David Yakuboff said, that this is the safest way to dispose of prescription drugs. One councilor asked during last week's Town Council meeting why the drugs couldn't just be flushed down the toilet. The answer is because those drugs can find their way into ground water that becomes part of our drinking water. Dropping the drugs in the locked box allows the police department to properly destroy them.

“There's more advantages other than just taking the drugs off the street. You're doing quite a few things. It's not just a one-prong approach,” Yakuboff said.

Cynthia Dougherty, a pharmacist with CVS, said the pharmacy will help promote the new collection box.

“The issue with prescription drugs is the availability. They're in every home, they're prescribed to the youth, even adults are abusing them,” Prentice said.