Senator Lee Zeldin Hosts Successful Shed Your Meds Campaign

PATCHOGUE—Senator Lee M. Zeldin (R,C,I—Shirley) hosted a successful Shed Your Meds campaign last night through the Suffolk County Police Department’s Operation Medicine Cabinet. 

Operation Medicine Cabinet is a long term program that allows residents to anonymously drop off their unused, unwanted or expired medications in secure receptacles located within all seven Suffolk County precincts. 

“The abuse of prescription drugs is well documented and has reached a point of crisis here on Long Island and across the nation,” said Senator Zeldin. “Operation Medicine Cabinet plays a critical role in combating that abuse by providing community members with a secure way to dispose of their unused prescription drugs. ”

Safe disposal of prescription medications is necessary to not only eliminate the risk of these drugs being abused or accidently ingested by small children, but to  protect our environment as well.  Improper disposal such as pouring them down the drain or flushing them down the toilet, can lead to potentially harmful pollution of our local waterways and ecosystems.

The Shed Your Meds event was meant to serve as a reintroduction of the program to the community and to highlight the significance of the effort.

Senator Zeldin concluded by thanking the members of the Suffolk County Police Department who supervised the disposal: “I greatly appreciate the efforts made by the dedicated members of our Police Department, especially Lt. Bob Donohue and Officer Mike O’Neill, who work so hard to tackle this issue head on. Thanks to their efforts, the event was a huge success bringing in 100 pounds of unused medication for disposal.”

For those unable to participate in last night’s event, prescriptions can be dropped off 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at any of the Suffolk County Police precincts.

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