Joint Base joins Project Medicine Drop

The first military installation in New Jersey to house a drop box for unused prescription meds is right in your back yard.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) has enrolled in the statewide Project Medicine Drop initiative, as revealed in a joint statement by base Commander Col. James C. Hodges and acting New Jersey Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

The drop box is installed at the 87th Security Forces Squadron, which functions essentially as police headquarters for the roughly 38,000 people who work, live, or do both at the base.

"This partnership is a prime example of how Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is working with our community partners to innovatively provide services to our personnel and their families,' Col. Hodges said.

As with all 126 drop boxes in New Jersey, it's accessible for dropping off excess remedies all day, every day.

The program through the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) operates on the premise that abuse of prescription painkillers opens the door for heroin and opiate abuse that has New Jersey and much of the nation in its grip.

Figures from Hoffman's office indicate that in the four years since its inception, Project Medicine Drop has logged more than 28 tons of excess medications. More than half the total was amassed in 2014, officials said.

Other components in the broad strategy include the Pain Management Council, assigned to create realistic prescription guidelines; expansion of the Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP) to build registration of pharmacists and include interstate data sharing; and new security requirements for prescription blanks.