Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R,C,I,SAM,ROS-Mahopac) is pleased to announce the success of his annual Shed the Meds event in Putnam County on Tuesday, September 13th at the Mahopac Volunteer Fire Department. Byrne was joined by local partners including Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, the Prevention Council of Putnam, the Carmel Police Department, and the Putnam County Legislature. Over 50 pounds of unwanted and expired medications were collected to be safely disposed of by the Carmel Police Department.
“Thank you to all our terrific partners from the community who helped make this event possible,” said Byrne. “We started the Shed The Meds program years ago with former state Sen. Terrence Murphy, and I’ve been honored to continue the program since. Over the years we’ve had several key legislative successes to help our state combat the opioid epidemic, but events and programs like this are at the center of what we need to do to combat opioid misuse, destigmatize addiction, raise awareness and prevent overdose. In that time, we have collected over 4,000 pounds of expired or unused medications; removing them from our medicine cabinets, protecting our drinking water and ensuring they go to a safe disposal unit like the one nearby at Carmel Police Department.”
“Thank you Assemblyman Byrne for keeping events like these going in our community,” said Amy Sayegh “It is not only important to keep these medications out of the hands of our kids and family members, but it is also equally important to make sure that these substances don’t get into our waterways.”
“We want to thank you, Kevin, for keeping this issue in the minds of our community members,” said Mike Simone, Carmel Highway Superintendent & President of the Prevention Council of Putnam. “The Prevention Council stands strongly behind you in your effort to keep unwanted or unused medications out of medicine cabinets. Also, if you happen to miss today’s event, the Prevention Council of Putnam is having our own event in conjunction with Putnam Hospital on October 29th to dispose of medications, so please remember to stop by.”
“We’ve done these events with you and our partners here in the past, and it’s a great opportunity to let our community know that our officers are acutely aware of the risk that these substances can pose to our area,” said Chief Anthony Hoffman, Carmel Police Department. “We look forward to participating with you at these events in the future.”
“Thank you, Kevin, for hosting another Shed the Meds event,” said Susan Solomone of Drug Crisis in Our Backyard. “We have been doing this with you for eight years – first with Senator Terrance Murphy and now we continue to participate with your office in both Westchester and Putnam Counties. Drug Crisis in Our Backyard works with families who struggle with addiction, and we can be there to support anyone who comes to us. Events like these are so important towards stopping drug misuse before it begins.”
“Thank you, Assemblyman Byrne, for hosting another Shed the Meds event this year,” said Kristin McConnell, Executive Director of the Prevention Council of Putnam. “Collections like these are a great way for us to raise awareness about the importance of properly disposing of prescription drugs and preventing substance misuse.”
“Thank you to Assemblyman Byrne and his office for working to put together this event on Tuesday,” said Michael Cazzari, Town of Carmel Supervisor. “I also want to thank Drug Crisis in Our Backyard and the Prevention Council of Putnam because it’s really important that we educate the parents and children of our community about substance misuse, mental health disorders and all the causes that lead people to rely on opioids.”
Since he was 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 for 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 (A.6314).
The Carmel Police Department prescription drug disposal unit is open in the lobby of police headquarters at 60 McAlpin Ave, Carmel, New York 10541.
The above information was previously distributed and made public for immediate release by the Office of Assemblyman Kevin Byrne