CVS/pharmacy announces donation of drug collection units

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy is teaming up with The Partnership at Drugree.org to create a community donation program through which local police departments can apply to receive a drug collection unit to help their communities safely dispose of unwanted medications, including controlled substances, the pharmacy retailer announced on Thursday.



As part of CVS/pharmacy's Medication Disposal for Safer Communities program, up to 1,000 receptacles will be awarded to police departments through an application process that will launch on May 1. The Partnership at Drugfree.org will obtain the drug collection units from MedReturn.



"As part of our on-going commitment to combat prescription drug abuse, we have participated in events for many years with law enforcement to help safely dispose of expired, unused or unwanted medication," stated Josh Flum, SVP of retail pharmacy at CVS Caremark. "Through this donation program, CVS/pharmacy and The Partnership at Drugfree.org will now provide our communities with a permanent drug disposal solution at their local police departments."



CVS/pharmacy is the only retail pharmacy sponsor of The Partnership at Drugfree.org's Medicine Abuse Project, a multi-year initiative to prevent a half-million teenagers from abusing prescription medication by the year 2017.



CVS/pharmacy also is a strong supporter of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day being held April 26. Nearly 200 CVS/pharmacy locations across the United States will host drug take back events managed by local law enforcement agencies.



National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, established by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, aims to provide a safe, convenient and responsible means to dispose of prescription drugs, while educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. It is held twice each year, in the spring and fall, at thousands of locations in the United States. Since its inception, more than 3.4 million pounds of unneeded medications have been collected and destroyed.