potential 10.20.16 About two-thirds of teens who report abusing prescription drugs obtain them from family, friends and acquaintances. 1 Fortunately, this problem is highly preventable through the safe disposal of unwanted medications. As a pharmacy innovation company, safe disposal is a key component of our drug abuse prevention strategy. That s why we launched our Medication Disposal for Safer Communities program, through which police departments can apply to receive a drug collection unit to help their communities safely discard unwanted medications, including controlled substances. Since 2014, we have donated 800 drug collection units to police departments in 43 states. To date, the program has collected more than 100 metric tons of prescription drugs. These collection receptacles not only prevent medication diversion and abuse, they also serve an important environmental purpose by preventing improperly disposed of medications from contaminating our water supply. The Medication Disposal for Safer Communities program allows CVS Pharmacy to team up with the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to provide our communities with a permanent drug disposal solution at their local police departments, says Tom Davis, RPh, Vice President of Pharmacy Professional Practices at CVS Pharmacy. It s an important part of our abuse prevention strategy, which includes expanding access to naloxone without a prescription and teen education efforts . We support ongoing prescription drug disposal efforts in a variety of other ways: Any law enforcement agency wishing to conduct a local take-back event may use a portion of our parking lot as a collection site. We promote permanent local drug disposal collection site programs through customized in-store signage. Postage-paid Environmental Return System envelopes are available at all CVS Pharmacy locations. Using these envelopes, customers can send their unwanted medications for secure and environmentally safe disposal. On designated National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days , hundreds of CVS Pharmacy locations have served as collection sites for unwanted medication. Since 2013, there have been more than 800 take-back events hosted by CVS Pharmacy locations. CVS Health has launched a new tool as part of the drug abuse prevention resources on CVS.com where visitors can search by ZIP code to find a safe, year-round medication disposal location. For more information about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities program, email Safer_Communities@CVSCaremark.com . Police departments that wish to apply for a drug collection unit can do so online. This article was originally published on October 20, 2016, and was updated to reflect current data on September 21, 2017. 1 Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, 2016 Naloxone availability across the United States 4 6 See States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin CVS Pharmacy patients in 46 states now have access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug, naloxone. Follow our commitment to drug abuse prevention as we increase access to the life-saving opioid overdose reversal drug. Related Articles Year in Review: The Top 5 Stories of 2017 A look back at our most read articles in 2017 reveals that the topics of opioid abuse and rising drug prices are top of mind for our readers. Experts Discuss Opioid Epidemic at Forbes Healthcare Summit CVS Health s CMO Troy Brennan and expert panel discuss solutions to curb the opioid epidemic and assist those already facing addiction. CVS Health and POLITICO Examine the Opioid Crisis A quick and easy-to-understand explanation of one of the most pressing challenges in public health: the opioid epidemic. Related Press Releases 09.21.17 CVS Health Fighting National Opioid Abuse Epidemic With Enterprise Initiatives 09.12.17 CVS Health Makes Overdose-Reversal Drug Available Without Individual Prescription at CVS Pharmacy Locations in Kansas 07.27.17 CVS Health Makes Overdose-Reversal Drug Available Without Individual Prescription at CVS Pharmacy Locations in South Dakota 06.07.17 CVS Pharmacy Now Using Time Delay Safes in Ohio for Controlled Substances to Combat Opioid Epidemic, Reduce Robbery Incidents 05.23.17 Attorney General Brnovich, Rep. Carter Join CVS Health to Announce Availability of Naloxone at All CVS Pharmacy Locations in Arizona 04.27.17 CVS Health Report Examines Public Perceptions of Opioid Epidemic, Drug Disposal Ahead of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day you should be
virtually Safe Drug Disposal is Key to Preventing Abuse is certain
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