Bellmore-Merrick School District to host Drug Take-Back Day on May 13

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The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and Community Parent Center will host their annual Drug Take-Back Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, at Grand Avenue Middle School in Bellmore.

Every day, 2,500 individuals across the country ages 12-17 get high for the first time on prescription drugs and 70 percent of them obtain opioids from friends and family, according to Wendy Tepfer, Director of the Community Parent Center.

In an effort to decrease that number, Bellmore-Merrick hosted its first Drug Take-Back Day in September 2014. The event catalyzed a mission by the Bellmore-Merrick Heroin Task Force to spread awareness of the opioid epidemic in Nassau County.

Those wishing to participate this year are invited bring their unwanted medications to Grand Avenue Middle School, so long as it is in its original container with the owner’s name crossed out for anonymity. The medical information on the bottle must not be crossed out in order to keep track of what prescriptions are being collected for proper disposal.

Residents are also invited to drop-off illegal drugs, syringes and sharps and will remain anonymous. No thermometers, IV Bags, chemo drugs or liquids will be accepted.

For more information, contact Eric Caballero, of the Bellmore-Merrick School District, at (516) 992-1048 or Wendy Tepfer at (516) 771-9346.