Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaw team with Partnership for a Drug Free Canada on medication recovery campaign

TORONTO — Shopper’s Drug Mart is partnering with the Partnership for a Drug Free Canada for the National Medicine Take-Back Campaign for the third time. This year’s campaign, which allows Canadians to drop off expired or unused medication at their local pharmacy, will also include Loblaw Pharmacy, bringing the total number of drop-off locations to 1,800.

This year the campaign, which runs through December, is aimed at educating about teen misuse of prescription drugs and OTC medicine, as well as disposing of drugs in an environmentally responsible way. The campaign has proven effective, with pharmacies collecting 390 tons of medicine in 2014’s campaign, more than double the amount collected in 2013.

“I want to thank the thousands of Canadians who answered the call and returned their unused and expired medications to Shoppers Drug Mart for safe and environmentally friendly disposal,” Shoppers Drug Mart president Mike Motz said.  “As part of our commitment to promoting safe medicine use, Shoppers Drug Mart is proud to work with the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada.”

A recent study by the PDFC found that two-thirds of parents who had seen advertisements talked to their children about the dangers of using prescription drugs to get high, compared to 40 percent of parents who hadn’t, and 80 percent of respondents knew that they could dispose of their unused drugs at a local pharmacy.

“The devastating effects of addiction to prescription drugs are being felt by many families and communities in every region of the country,” Canadian Minister of Health Rona Ambrose said. “By taking unused prescription drugs back to your local pharmacy, you are eliminating a key source of access for many Canadian youth. Working together, we can help reduce the abuse of these substances and encourage all Canadians to lead healthier, drug-free lives.”