Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R, C, Ref-Mahopac) is pleased to announce the success of his office’s annual Shed the Meds event where he teamed up with local partners like Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, the Prevention Council of Putnam, Brewster Volunteer Fire Department and the Brewster Police Department. The event, which took place on Monday, Aug. 24, collected nearly 200 pounds of unwanted medication to be disposed of by the Brewster Police Department.
“Each year, it is amazing to see the enormous amount of participation and support our Shed the Meds program receives from the community,” said Byrne. “To think we were able to collect nearly 200 pounds of expired and/or unused medication, despite the challenges set before us by the COVID-19 pandemic, is truly remarkable. It is important for us to properly dispose of these types of pharmaceuticals because doing things likeflushing it down the toilet can lead to contamination of our water supply. Thank you again to all our local partners and neighbors for their continued participation and support.”
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 also successfully advocated for stronger state policies like eliminating required pre-authorization for Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and passage of the “Drug Take Back Act” (Chap. 120 of 2018). He also continues to push for support of drug treatment courts, increasing the number of days covered for in-patient and out-patient substance abuse treatment (A.3041) and increasing penalties on profit-making drug traffickers whose sales lead to the death of people suffering from addiction (A.3902).
Byrne will be hosting a second Shed the Meds event for Northern Westchester residents outside the Yorktown Police Department on Thursday, Sept. 3 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.