Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,I,SAM,ROS-Mahopac) is pleased to announce the success of his annual Shed the Meds event in Yorktown on Thursday, June 16 at the Yorktown Police Department. Byrne was joined by local partners, including Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, Alliance for Safe Kids, the Yorktown Police Department and members of the Yorktown Town Board.
“The support we continue to receive from the community at these events is remarkable and has led to the safe disposal of upwards of over 3,000 pounds of expired or unused prescription drugs during my tenure in the Assembly,” said Byrne. “Flushing unwanted or expired medications down the toilet can lead to contamination of our water supply. It’s also important to remove these types of drugs from our medicine cabinets in order to limit access for those who may misuse them. Thank you to all our local partners and neighbors for their continued participation and support.”
“We are glad Assemblyman Byrne continues to support these events in our community” said Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater. “We are also the first community in Westchester County to partner with Hope Not Handcuffs, which provides a safe haven at the Yorktown Police Department for people struggling with substance abuse. This program creates a pathway for people who are struggling to seek help.”
“Our lobby is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Chief Robert Noble of the Yorktown Police Department. “Stop by any time to get rid of any unwanted medication that you may have at home. We appreciate Assemblyman Byrne for doing this event annually to make more residents aware of the availability of drug disposal boxes at a police department near you.”
“It is so important to keep old and unused prescription medication, especially opioids, out of our homes,” said Liz Talbert, Executive Director of Alliance for Safe Kids. “1 in 5 teens have experienced taking their first non-prescribed opioid at their home or someone else’s. Our thanks goes out to Assemblyman Kevin Byrne for bringing awareness to this important initiative of the safe disposal of these drugs. We also want to thank our police department for making disposal so accessible to the public.”
“Thank you very much Assemblyman Byrne for helping to keep drugs out of the hands of our children,” said Eileen New of Drug Crisis in Our Backyard. “Events like these are responsible for saving lives, and we thank everyone involved for bringing awareness to that.”
Byrne has continued this annual event, following the tradition first set by his former colleague, Sen. Terrence Murphy. Shed the Meds has since become a popular event throughout the area, with high participation from Hudson Valley residents.
Since elected, Byrne has supported and held numerous Shed the Meds events throughout Putnam & Westchester counties. He has also successfully advocated for stronger state policies like eliminating required pre-authorization for Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), passage of the “Drug Take Back Act” (Chap. 120 of 2018) and the creation of a new, special opioid settlement fund to ensure settlement money is properly appropriated for treatment (A.6395-B, Chap.190, 2021). He also continues to push for support of drug treatment courts, increasing the number of days covered for in-patient and out-patient substance use disorder treatment (A.902) and increasing penalties on profit-making drug traffickers whose sales lead to the death of people suffering from addiction (A.6314).
The Yorktown Police Department prescription drug disposal unit is open in the lobby of police headquarters 24 hours and 7 days per week at 2281 Crompond Road, Yorktown, New York 10598.
The above information was previously distributed and made public for immediate release by the Office of Assemblyman Kevin Byrne