Anti-drug coalition wants your unused meds in Woodmere on June 23

Gather all your expired and non-useful drugs and dispose of the medications at the third annual  “Drug Take Back” event on June 23.

At the Hatzalah of the Rockaways & Nassau County station on West Broadway in Woodmere from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. under the oversight of the Nassau County police 4th Precinct, the event is sponsored by Saving Lives Five Towns Drug & Alcohol Coalition under the umbrella of the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC.

New partners, Ezra Pharmacy in Cedarhurst, are using their pharmacy bags as continuous outreach in the community. The bags will instruct families on how to properly store/and or dispose of medication to keep everyone safe, especially children.

“People can just drive in, drop off, no questions asked and bring in any unused or expired medications over the counter or prescribed and we take care of it for them,” said Susan Blauner, director substance abuse prevention, awareness and education.

Last year, 144 pounds of medication was collected. Doctor’s offices were bringing in old medication by the droves. The hope is to supersede this amount at this year’s event and helps raise more awareness.

“The whole point of this is to reduce youth access in the homes, home medicine cabinets can be a drug dealer,” Blauner said. “This way people are able to get rid of what’s expired or unused/unwanted and we take care of it.”

Ezra Pharmacy provides a medical disposal bin in the store to ensure year-round proper disposal. The bin has existed for four years, and serves as a commitment to help keeping the community safe.

Being in the community over 30 years, the pharmacy wanted to do something to help the community and make sure their customers were properly informed.

“It makes me feel good to give back to the community and to help, Ezra means help in Hebrew,” said Sidney Langweil, owner of Ezra Pharmacy.

Langweil has been in touch with doctors and places of worship to spread the word about being apart of this year’s “Drug Take Back” initiative.

Saving Lives Five Towns and Ezra Pharmacy are forging a path towards a healthier and safer community, making a difference one prescription at a time, according to said Isaac Cwibeker, coalition coordinator at the Saving Lives Five Towns Drug and Alcohol Coalition

“We hope that our partnership with Ezra Pharmacy serves as a model for other community stakeholders seeking to address similar challenges, which only underscores the importance of collaboration in creating positive change,” Cwibeker said.