Medford Town Council declares Oct. 6 “Knock Out Opiate Abuse Day”
Medford’s town council issued a proclamation declaring Oct. 6 “Knock Out Opiate Abuse Day” at its Oct. 3 meeting.
“Drugs are a big issue, not only in our town, but nationally,” Mayor Chuck Watson said. “This is recognizing our efforts as a town and as a country of knocking out this issue.”
According to Watson, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared prescription drug use a health epidemic, and every day 44 people die from a prescription painkiller overdose. Additionally, Watson said 26.6 percent of prescriptions written by dentists and 22.7 percent written by emergency medical physicians and 41.8 percent written by orthopedists are for opioids.
During the discussion items portion of the meeting, Watson also brought up a letter written to council by the Medford Youth Athletic Association requesting council allow alcoholic beverages within Hartford Crossing, where a member of MYAA hoped to hold a cornhole tournament. Initially, members of council had no issues with the request. However, Watson requested Medford Police Chief Rich Meder to weigh in on the idea. Meder said the decision to allow alcoholic beverages in Hartford Crossing for the event would be “a mistake,” and called it “a liability.”
“How would we control the alcohol intake?” Meder asked. “Where does it end? This time it’s the MYAA. Who’s next? Is it the MYAA at a baseball tournament who wants to bring in somebody to sell alcohol to raise funds for the MYAA during a youth baseball tournament? To me, it’s a can of worms we don’t want to open.”
Meder added he wasn’t sure who would be liable “if somebody drinks too much and falls.”
Councilman Jeffrey Beenstock agreed with Meder. Councilman Chris Buoni was unconvinced.
“I don’t agree,” Buoni said to Meder. “With all due respect, your points are well-taken. I would want to place a restriction that it not be during youth events because there’s obvious indications there. I don’t believe that alcohol consumption in and of itself is a bad thing. I don’t know if it’s something that should be taboo. I mean, abuse of alcohol is a much different story. But we in New Jersey regulate everything. I’ve been to plenty of places where [alcohol] is permitted in public parks. I’m assuming that the permits can cover any foreign liabilities…I just want to say that I think we’re all adults and we’ve got to trust each other to be adults. They could just as easily show up to the event drunk.”
No decision was made at the meeting. Council plans to add it back into the discussion portion of the next town council meeting in two weeks.
In other news:
- Council approved Bruce Stroud and Beth Clemson as new EMS members to station 258.
- Council approved the following new fire members: Kristina Gajderowicz, Christopher Koellner, John Gajderowicz and Stephen Bielec.
- Council approved Kevin Strittmatter’s rise from junior firefighter to full member firefighter.
- Council approved a raffle license for Food Bank of South Jersey on Oct. 6 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The next Medford Town Council meeting will be held Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Council/Court Room of the Public Safety Building located at 91 Union St.
