{"id":10092,"date":"2013-12-19T13:43:51","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T18:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=10092"},"modified":"2013-12-19T12:51:55","modified_gmt":"2013-12-19T17:51:55","slug":"hogan-announces-new-prescription-drug-drop-off-boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=10092","title":{"rendered":"Hogan announces new prescription drug drop off boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 locations around Chester County make it easier dispose of unwanted prescriptions<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"MedBox\"<\/a>

Various county officials inspect the medication drop box located in the Sheriff\u2019s Office at the Chester County Justice Center, including (from left to right): Cathy Dugan from Kacie\u2019s Cause, Lt. Kevin Dykes of the Chester County Detectives, Sheriff Carolyn B. Welsh, District Attorney Tom Hogan, State Representative Becky Corbin, and Luis Tovar from Kacie\u2019s Cause.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chester County residents will now have 10 permanent locations all around the county to dispose of expired or unneeded prescription drugs, county District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

The installation of medication collection boxes \u2014 which resemble mail boxes \u2014 allows for the easy, safe and secure dropoff of these medicines, keeping them out of the hands of would-be abusers or out of landfills and potentially, the water supply.<\/p>\n

“These boxes are a Christmas gift to Chester County from law enforcement,\u201d Hogan said in a statement. \u201cCitizens can safely dispose of prescription drugs, keeping drugs out of the hands of our children and out of our water. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in America. Chester County law enforcement IS committed to reducing drug abuse and keeping our environment safe.”<\/p>\n

State Representative Becky Corbin (R-155) expressed her strong support of this program, and was on hand for the program’s announcement.<\/p>\n

“Law enforcement across Chester County supports the medication collection program,\u201d Corbin said. \u201cThis is the type of proactive program the community needs to help prevent addiction so that more lives are not destroyed by drug abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local law enforcement officials welcomed the move as a step forward to fight drug abuse.<\/p>\n

“Prescription drug abuse is rampant among young adults in Pennsylvania,\u201d Parkesburg Borough Police Chief Brian Sheller, who is also the President of the Chester County Police Chiefs Association, said. \u201cAnd too often, prescription drugs are a gateway to using illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine.”<\/p>\n

According to Hogan, local residents can easily, conveniently and anonymously dispose of their medications in the boxes, which are designed like mailboxes.<\/p>\n

The new boxes \u2014 and their availability, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, as opposed to specified drop-off days \u2014 encourages people to remove expired or unwanted medication from their homes, he noted. Further, he said, removing such medication reduces access to addictive drugs for accidental or intentional misuse by individuals, especially children. The medication disposal boxes also offer an environmentally safe, accessible, and convenient method of disposing of medication instead of placing dangerous drugs in the trash or sewer systems.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, groups publicly battling drug abuse in the county applauded the move, including Kacie\u2019s Cause \u2014 an organization dedicated to stopping heroin abuse among young people. The group was founded by Kennett Square resident Andy Rumford, whose daughter Kacie died from a heroin overdose in 2012.<\/p>\n

Hogan said the new drop-off boxes are key in the shifting battle against drug abuse.<\/p>\n

“The front line in the war on drugs has shifted from the dangerous street comers in the rough part of town to the medicine cabinet in your home,\u201d he said. \u201cMore people die every year in the United States from prescription drug abuse than from illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin. Safely disposing of dangerous medications will save lives. These medication collection boxes are part of the District Attorney’s comprehensive effort to attack drug issues, including locking up dealers, treating addicts through Drug Court, and supporting Good Samaritan legislation to protect people who report overdoses.”<\/p>\n

The medication collection boxes were obtained by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office through a grant from the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The program will be administered by the police departments where the boxes are located and supervised by the Chester County Detectives.<\/p>\n

The boxes are at the following locations:<\/p>\n

1. Chester County Justice Center<\/p>\n

Sheriff s Department<\/p>\n

201 West Market Street, Suite 1201<\/p>\n

West Chester, PA 19380<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. East Brandywine Township Police Department<\/p>\n

1212 Horseshoe Pike<\/p>\n

Downingtown, PA 19335<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Kennett Square Borough Police Department<\/p>\n

115 N. Broad Street<\/p>\n

Kennett Square, P A 19348<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. New Garden Township Police Department<\/p>\n

8934 Gap Newport Pike<\/p>\n

Landenberg, PA 19350<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. North Coventry Township Police Department<\/p>\n

845 South Hanover Street<\/p>\n

Pottstown, P A 19464<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Parkesburg Borough Police Department<\/p>\n

315 W. First Avenue, Building 2<\/p>\n

Parkesburg, PA 19365<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7. Phoenixville Borough Police Department<\/p>\n

351 Bridge Street<\/p>\n

Phoenixville, P A 19460<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8. West Goshen Township Police Department<\/p>\n

1025 Paoli Pike<\/p>\n

West Chester, P A 19382<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9. West Whiteland Township Police Department<\/p>\n

101 Commerce Drive<\/p>\n

Exton, PA 19341<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10. Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department<\/p>\n

1041 Wilmington Pike<\/p>\n

West Chester, PA 19382<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 locations around Chester County make it easier dispose of unwanted prescriptions Chester County residents will now have 10 permanent locations all around the county to dispose of expired or unneeded prescription drugs, county District Attorney Tom Hogan announced Thursday. The installation of medication collection boxes \u2014 which resemble mail boxes \u2014 allows for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[15,1702,791,2877,3727],"class_list":["post-10092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chester-county","tag-chester-county-police-chiefs-association","tag-district-attorney-tom-hogan","tag-kacies-cause","tag-state-representative-becky-corbin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}