Ritchie Collects Nearly 400 Pounds of Medications at "Shed the Meds" Events

State Senator Patty Ritchie teamed up with local hospitals, community groups and law enforcement agencies last week to collect nearly 400 pounds of unwanted or expired medications at her “Shed the Meds” drug take-back events.

As part of the program, hundreds of local residents dropped off their unwanted medications at three different locations in Senator Ritchie’s district—River Hospital in Alexandria Bay, Carthage Hospital in Carthage and Oswego Health in Oswego—where professionals were later able to dispose of them properly.

“Unfortunately, we’ve seen just how much damage these prescription drugs can cause when they are disposed of improperly, or even worse, end up in the wrong hands,” said Senator Ritchie. “It is wonderful to see so many people understand just how important it is to dispose of these medications in a manner that protects both the environment and public safety.”

Anyone who still has unwanted to expired medications can bring them to any of the following locations, which have created drop boxes to collect prescriptions:

Oswego City Police Department
169 West 2nd Street 
Oswego, NY 13126 

Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
753 Waterman Drive
Watertown, NY 13601 

Village of Massena Police Department
Town Hall, 60 Main Street
Massena, NY 13662

St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office
48 Court Street
Canton, NY 13617

In addition, both the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and Gouverneur hospitals in St. Lawrence County now have drug disposal kiosks in their main lobbies.   

Senator Ritchie would like to thank the following organizations for helping make this year’s events possible:

PIVOT- The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council of Jefferson County, River Hospital, Carthage Area Hospital, Oswego Health, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, Oswego County Sheriff's Department, Village of Alexandria Bay Police Department, Village of Carthage Police Department and the Oswego Police Department.

The “Shed the Meds” program is just one of several ways Senator Ritchie has committed to combatting New York State’s drug problem.  As a member of the Senate’s Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, she recently advocated for a record $247 million investment in the new state budget to fight drug abuse.