Drug Drop-Off Events Announced
March 4th and March 11th
Poughkeepsie… Dutchess County Marcus J. Molinaro has announced several special events for the public to dispose of unwanted/unused medications during March. The Dutchess County STOP-DWI Program has been awarded funding through a New York State Department of Health grant project being administered by Riverkeeper Inc., aimed at increasing pharm waste reduction strategies.
In partnership with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the STOP-DWI Program is coordinating drug collection events to provide the community the ability to drop off to safely dispose unwanted medications. In his 2017 State of the County address, County Executive Molinaro highlighted expanding prescription drug drop-off points, and making it easier for residents to dispose of such drugs, as an important component of fighting the opiate and heroin epidemic.
Collection drop off events have been scheduled as follows:
Saturday, March 4th
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mid-Hudson Plaza, Route 9 & Fulton Street, Poughkeepsie
(In front of Home Depot)
Saturday, March 11th
10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Amenia Town Hall (Winter Farmer’s Market), 4988 Route 22, Amenia
Noon to 1:30 p.m. Dover Fire House, 3122 Route 22, Dover Plains
2 p.m. to 3:30 pm. Millbrook Fire House, 20 Front Street, Millbrook
Recognizing more than 70 percent of abused prescription medications are obtained from friends or relatives, County Executive Molinaro reminds residents that “reducing the amount of old or unused prescription medications from our home medicine cabinets is the first step to stop addiction before it begins.” The main goal of the Dutchess County Prescription Medication Drop Box program, which includes 10 permanent receptacles/locations, is to keep addictive substances from falling into the wrong hands and being misused.
Drop box locations are accessible to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with noted exceptions.
| City of Beacon Police Department | 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon, NY.12508 |
| Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office | 150 N. Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 |
| East Fishkill Police Department | 2468 Route 52, Hopewell Jct., NY 12533 |
| Hyde Park Police Department | 3 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538 |
| New York State Police, Troop K Headquarters | 2541 Route 44, Salt Point, NY 12578 |
| Pawling Substation,
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Call 845-486-3800 for assistance |
9 Memorial Ave, Pawling, NY 12564 |
| Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department | 19 Tucker Drive, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 |
| Millerton Police Department
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4p.m. Saturday, noon to midnight Sunday, 4 p.m. to midnight or call (518) 789-3115 |
21 Dutchess Ave., Millerton, NY 12546 |
| Red Hook Police Department
Daily, 8 a.m. to midnight |
7467 South Broadway, Red Hook, NY 12571 |
| Wappingers Falls Police Department | 2628 South Ave., Wappingers Falls NY 12590 |
For more information visit; http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/STOPDWI/DWPrescriptionDrugTakeback.pdf
County Legislator Angela Flesland said, “A large percentage of heroin users start by abusing prescription drugs. Please clean out your medicine cabinet and help prevent potential drug abuse and addiction. Making drug disposal as easy as possible is an important step in combating addiction, and I’m proud that Dutchess County is making events like these possible to ensure these drugs will not reach those who would abuse them.”
