This week police stations in three New Jersey towns (Vineland, Little Falls, and Seaside Heights) set up drop boxes where residents can "dispose of unused prescription drugs," no questions asked. The program, which New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow hopes will spread to every county in the state, is aimed at discouraging nonmedical use of painkillers and other psychoactive prescription drugs. Thomas Calcagni, director of New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs, warns that such drugs (like alcohol-soaked tampons) "are everywhere," especially "for our teens, for our children," who will find that "they are as close as the medicine cabinet." For cops, of course, they are as close as the drop box in the lobby. "If it fills up," Dow promises, "we'll empty it out, and hopefully they bring another carload."
Inspired by Dow's example, I have put a box on my front porch where residents of Dallas are invited to leave their unwanted drugs. For the children.
[Thanks to Charles Novins for the tip.]
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