November 1, 2022

TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler announced the results of Saturday’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The popular event urging residents to clean out their medicine cabinets of unused or expired drugs took in a record 260 pounds of pills. The medications disposed of ranged from everyday prescriptions to addictive opioids.

“The Sheriff’s Office’s Prescription Drug Take Back Day reflects my commitment to the safety and health of residents, encouraging everyone to remove unneeded medications from their homes to prevent misuse and addiction from ever starting,” said Sheriff Jack Kemler.

The drop-off event, sponsored twice a year by the Sheriff’s Office, was held at the County Administration Building in Trenton on Saturday, October 29, and is hailed as a safe, fast, and easy way to dispose of old medications and take dangerous drugs out of circulation.

While the agency does not keep formal records on the amounts of prescription drugs collected over the years, the Sheriff’s event held on Saturday appears to be a record for the disposal of unused and expired drugs, besting October 2021’s event that took in over 150 pounds of drugs.

The prescription drugs were turned over to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and destroyed.

For more information on prescription drug disposal initiatives, contact the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Programs Section at 609-278-7159.