Prescription Drug Safety and Disposal

Take the American Medicine Chest 5 Step Challenge

By: Angelo M. Valente

The American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) is a community based public health initiative, with law enforcement partnership, designed to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and provide a nationwide day of disposal – at a collection site or in the home – of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine. AMCC provides a unified national, statewide, and local focus on the issue of children and teens abusing prescription medicine. It is designed to generate unprecedented media attention and challenge all Americans to take the 5 Step American Chest Challenge.

It is important for households across the state of New Jersey to understand how easy it is for children and teens to abuse prescription drugs. “AMCC encourages families throughout the state of New Jersey to take the 5-Step Challenge,” said AMCC CEO, Angelo M. Valente. “We have come so far and so much has been achieved – hundreds of permanent disposal sites have been installed and thousands of tons of prescription drugs have been collected. Yet, we are still in the midst of an opiate abuse epidemic and the need for this initiative has continued to expand ever since New Jersey held the first statewide day of disposal in the nation.”

“When AMCC began addressing this issue several years ago, the answer seemed simple, dispose of the unused medicine in your home and prevent it from being diverted and abused by the young people in your life. Safe disposal opportunities have expanded in New Jersey, and now, residents in over 200 communities from across our state have safe and convenient access to a medicine disposal location,” said Valente. “The DEA recently reinstated their Drug-Take Back Day to provide additional opportunities, and the partners we have in the media are working hard to get the message out about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. We still know that these efforts are key steps in preventing prescription drug abuse, but now we must address the epidemic of opioid abuse on all fronts. Heroin overdoses are on the rise across the country and New Jersey is ground zero.”

According to a report released in 2015 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heroin use has increased across the US among men and women, most age groups, and all income levels. The report found that the strongest risk factor for heroin use is a history of prescription drug abuse. The greatest increases in heroin abuse have occurred in groups with historically lower rates of heroin use, including women, people with private insurance and higher incomes.

New Jersey has worked to address the issue in a 21 bill package, introduced by Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee Chairman, Joseph F. Vitale, to tackle the heroin and prescription drug epidemic that is sweeping our state. One measure requires practitioners to have a conversation with their patient about the risks of developing a physical or psychological dependence before prescribing. Another, which is now law, requires physicians to utilize the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

There are many ways we can work together to prevent opiate abuse, and stem the tide of this epidemic; we can start in our own homes. “Please encourage all of those in your community, workplace, family, and home to take the 5-Step Challenge,” said Valente.

1. Take inventory of your prescription and over-the-counter medicine.
2. Secure your medicine.
3. Dispose of your unused, unwanted, and expired medicine at an American Medicine Chest Challenge Disposal site.
4. Take your medicine(s) exactly as prescribed.
5. Talk to your children about the dangers of prescription drug abuse… they are listening.

Information on locations to safely dispose of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine can be found on the American Medicine Chest Challenge website: www.americanmedicinechest.com or by downloading the AMCC Rx Drop mobile app.

This initiative is provided without cost to any community, government, or law enforcement agency in the country.