National Drug Take Back Day In Ocean County: See Where To Drop Off Medications

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — If you have unneeded medications in your home, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and multiple police departments will be collecting them as part of National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.

The national event aims to get unneeded and unused prescription medication out of homes and prevent it from ending up on the streets or otherwise in the hands of those who would abuse medications.

"Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands," the DEA notes on its website for National Drug Take Back Day. "That's dangerous and often tragic."

National Drug Take Back Day allows people to anonymously discard medications safely — you do not need to provide any information to drop them off.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the prosecutor's office will have a drop-off site in front of the Ocean County Justice Complex, 120 Hooper Ave. in Toms River, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

People can drop off tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription medications. Vaping devices will be accepted provided that the lithium batteries have been removed.

Liquids, syringes and illegal drugs will not be accepted.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has been held twice a year each year since 2010. Since its inception, the Drug Enforcement Administration and its law enforcement partners have collected 19.4 million pounds of medication.

"Take Back Day is an effective tool in reducing the availability of unused medication and prescription drugs," Billhimer said. "I encourage all of our residents to take advantage of this opportunity to turn these items over to law enforcement."

In addition to the site at the Ocean County Justice Complex, people can drop off unneeded medications at the following locations:

• BARNEGAT: Barnegat Police Department, 900 West Bay Ave., Barnegat
• BEACHWOOD: Beachwood Police Department, 1600 Pinewald Road, Beachwood
• BRICK: Brick Township Police will be collecting at Walmart, 1872 Route 88, Brick
• HARVEY CEDARS: 7606 Long Beach Blvd., Harvey Cedars
• JACKSON: Jackson Township Police Department, 102 Jackson Drive, Jackson
• LAKEWOOD: Lakewood Police Department, 231 3rd St., Lakewood
• LITTLE EGG HARBOR: Little Egg Harbor police will be collecting at Walmart, 631 Route 9, Little Egg Harbor
• SEASIDE PARK: Seaside Park Police Department, 1 Municipal Plaza, Seaside Park
• TOMS RIVER: Toms River Police Department, 255 Oak Ave., Toms River