MORRIS COUNTY — On October 24, 2020, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office participated in Operation Take Back in partnership with four local police departments.
Operation Take Back is typically held bi-annually in the spring and autumn. However, due to the COVID-19 health emergency, no collection was held this past spring. Acting Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, Acting Chief of Investigations Chris Kimker, Hanover Township Chief of Police Mark Roddy, Morris Township Chief of Police Mark DiCarlo, Morris Plains Chief of Police Michael Koroski, and Randolph Township Chief of Police David Stokoe all aided in the coordination of the October 24 event.
Residents of Morris County were able to bring unused or expired prescription drugs to three designated locations – ShopRite of Greater Morristown in Hanover Township, the ACME Supermarket in Randolph, and the Stop and Shop Supermarket in Morris Plains. All drugs collected at the sites were weighed and properly destroyed by law enforcement officials. The total weight in drugs collected from each location are as follows:
- ShopRite of Greater Morristown: 84 pounds
- Stop and Shop of Morris Plains: 181 pounds
- ACME of Randolph: 237 pounds
Total: 502 pounds
Last year, Operation Take Back collections held in April and October in Morris County locations yielded a combined 975 pounds.
Acting Morris County Prosecutor Carroll said, “Given the consistently high yields that Operation Take Back in Morris County has collected, this proves to be much-needed community service. Even during a health emergency, our residents utilized this event to take an active role in combatting prescription drug misuse and abuse. I would like to thank our law enforcement and commercial partners for making this such a productive day.”
The community is reminded that if you were unable to drop off your medication, there are permanent drop box locations nearest you, which are listed by clicking here.
