Prescription Drug Drop-Off Event At Blue Claws Stadium Nets 88 Pounds

Roughly 100 people took advantage of a prescription drug drop-off program at the Lakewood Blue Claws stadium recently, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.

"The drop-off event held at Blue Claws Stadium yielded 88 pounds in unused prescription drugs in just over a one-hour period," Coronato said in a statement.

The program - which Coronato called a "tremendous success" - was sponsored by the Prosecutor's Office, DART and the Ocean County Health Department early Tuesday evening at the ballpark.

Event volunteers accepted unwanted prescriptions before the start of the game at  6 p.m. and closed out the collection just prior to 7:30pm.

"Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse," Coronato said. "Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high."

The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that more Americans abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined, he said.

"Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet," Coronato said..

The Prosecutor's Office secured the collected drugs and turned them over to the Lakewood Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency to be destroyed, he said.

Additional drug drop-offs are slated in the near future, Coronato said.