Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Plattsburgh) announced that Saturday, Oct. 26, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and is encouraging North Country residents to participate to protect the environment and keep them out of the wrong hands.

“A lot of us have various medications left over from illnesses or injuries hiding in the back of our medicine cabinets,” said Jones. “But if not properly disposed of, these forgotten drugs can easily slip into the hands of those who may abuse them. The opioid epidemic has already taken too many lives and devastated countless families in our communities. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a great way to ensure these unused prescriptions don’t hurt our loved ones or contaminate our drinking water.”

This Saturday marks the 18th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which is put on biannually by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Jones encourages every household to check their medicine cabinets for any leftover prescription drugs that can be disposed of safely. Local collection events will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following locations:

• Plattsburgh Police Department, 45 Pine St., Plattsburgh

• Kinney Drugs, 868 US-11, Champlain

• Kinney Drugs, 288 Cornelia St., Plattsburgh

• Malone Police Department, 485 E. Main St., Malone

• Rouses Point Fire Station, 48 Lake St., Rouses Point

• Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, 545 NY-37, Akwesasne

Additional locations can be found at takebackday.dea.gov.

These events are helping to take potentially dangerous medications out bathroom cabinets and safely disposing of them. According to the Clinton County Sherriff’s office, in 2017 there were 137 lbs. of medications collected, in 2018 there were 101 lbs. collected and this year so far 131 lbs. have been collected. Unwanted medications received at past collection events ranged from over-the-counter medications through category 5 narcotics.

Jones has continuously fought to curb the opioid epidemic and help more North Country residents get on the path to recovery. Earlier this year, he secured $50,000 in the state budget for the Champlain Valley Family Center (CVFC), an organization that provides substance abuse treatment, prevention education and support programs (E.634). The budget also included the Recovery in Jobs Act, legislation he authored to allow businesses that hire New Yorkers who are in state-certified rehab facilities to claim a tax credit of up to $2,000 for each qualifying employee (Ch. 59 of 2019).

“With everyone’s accelerated efforts, particularly with regard to Assemblyman Jones’s commitment to this issue, we are beginning to see progress and collectively we can work to resolve the issues this surplus of drugs has created,” said Clinton County Sherriff David Favro (D-Plattsburgh).