Local Libraries To Host Drug Takeback Events

Northport Village officials and police personnel announce last month the donation of drug testing kits to the Drug and Alcohol Task Force of Northport-East Northport. Photo/Facebook

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Public libraries across the Town of Huntington are teaming up with the Northport Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk Sheriff’s Office to provide a medicine collection week that runs from March 19-23.

Residents can bring any unused or expired prescription or over the counter medications to their local library for proper disposal, according to Nicole Carey of the Northport-East Northport Drug and Alcohol Task Force, which is co-sponsoring the collections at the libraries in Northport and East Northport.

“It can be a narcotic-based medicine or it be something that you got for a stomach ache,” Carey said. “You do not have to provide any information about what you are giving or yourself.”

Carey said keeping unused medications in medicine cabinets increase the chances that they will fall into the hands of children who are in their “risk taking years.”

“A common thing that we hear is that kids will go into their parents or their grandparents’ medicine cabinets and they’ll take pills,” Carey said.

Having unused or expired medications around the house also increases that chance that adults may try to self-treat illnesses or pain with improper medications, Carey said.

Carey also addressed the potential environmental concerns that arise from improper disposal of medications by flushing them down the drain or throwing them away in the garbage.

Over 4 billion prescriptions were written in the U.S. in 2017, according to a study conducted by local Long Island drug task forces in conjunction with New Jersey-based sustainable waste and energy company Covanta, which has a facility in East Northport.

The study also tested 61 wells in Suffolk and found that 28 tested positive for antibiotics, birth control medications, cholesterol medications, antidepressants or painkillers.

“You’re drinking water and you’re putting things in your body that are unnecessary, and it’s avoidable because we have opportunities, like the events at the libraries, to dispose of meds properly,” Carey said.

Suffolk Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) echoed the concerns that medications, if not properly disposed of, can cause accidental overdose, addiction or pollute our groundwater.

Spencer also praised county efforts in implementing the widespread use of nasal Narcan that can reverse the effects of an opioid drug overdose.

“We’ve just reached the milestone where we’ve now trained over 10,000 people how to utilize Narcan, and that has saved thousands of lives,” Spencer said.

Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said the town board is currently in the process of making appointments to its newly-created Opioid Task Force.

“We hope that they task force will be able to meet in the next month or so, and really help outline policies that include grant money for educational program, Narcan training for residents and town employees and coordinating our efforts with the police department and other levels of government to make sure that we are all working together to fight the opioid crisis,” he said.

Huntington Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who sponsored the legislation to create the opioid task force in December, said he is looking forward to turning ideas into real solutions.

“We have identified people from many walks of life that have been fighting the war on drugs to work with us,” Cuthbertson said.

Collection Dates:

Monday, March 19
South Huntington: 10 a.m.-12 noon
Commack: 1-3 p.m.
Northport-East Northport: 3:30-6:30 p.m.
 
Tuesday, March 20
Harborfields: 12 noon-2 p.m.
 
Wednesday, March 21
Cold Spring Harbor: 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Thursday, March 22
Elwood: 10 a.m.-12 noon
Huntington (Station branch): 1-3 p.m.
 
Friday, March 23
Half Hollow Hills (Dix Hills branch): 11 a.m.-1 p.m.