GPD receives CVS grant for drug collection unit

Thursday, April 30, 2015

The Greencastle Police Department has been awarded a grant from CVS/pharmacy to install a drug collection unit at GPD headquarters,.

The new unit is located in the front lobby of the Greencastle Police Department, 600 N. Jackson St., and will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances.

The new unit is intended to reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in residents' homes and decrease prescription drug abuse, which has soared in recent years, especially among teenagers. More than 70 percent of teenagers say it is easy to get prescription drugs from their parents' medicine cabinets, according to a 2014 Partnership for Drug-Free Kids study.

The new collection unit will also help the City of Greencastle prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication that has been disposed of improperly.

Since April 2011 GPD has collected approximately 2,400 pounds of unused, expired or unwanted prescription medications during the Drug Take Back Day events. However, the DEA is no longer sponsoring these events.

Safely removing and properly disposing of unused and expired medications is extremely critical for the continued safety of our children and or environment, Greencastle Police Chief Tom Sutherlin said.

"The City of Greencastle and the Greencastle Police Department are proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy and we thank them for their commitment to help residents reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in our community," Sutherlin added.

The Greencastle Police Department's new drug collection unit site is open to the public from the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked.

The new drug collection unit represents one of 1,000 Units CVS/pharmacy and The Medicine Abuse Project (MAP), a five-year initiative of The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, are providing across the country. This innovative donation program is the largest retail pharmacy effort of its kind to date and supports MAP's goal to prevent a half million teenagers from abusing prescription medication by the year 2017.

CVS/pharmacy is the sole retail pharmacy sponsor of this program, which builds on the company's Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program.

"CVS/pharmacy is dedicated to collaborating with organizations like The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and local law enforcement to prevent the abuse of unwanted and expired medication," said Josh Flum, senior vice president of retail pharmacy at CVS Health. "The installment of drug collection receptacles is part of our ongoing commitment to battle prescription drug abuse in the U.S. and to help people in the communities we serve on their path to better health."

CVS/pharmacy also assists law enforcement by supporting local drug take back events and promoting local drug disposal collection sites. CVS/pharmacy has conducted drug collection campaigns utilizing their retail locations, including several National Drug Take Back Day events. Law enforcement agencies which operate their own on-going collection site programs can also arrange to have the address and hours of their operations posted in local CVS/pharmacy stores.

Greencastle residents and CVS/pharmacy customers can also inquire about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program at the toll-free phone number 1-866-559-8830 or visit www.cvs.com/safercommunities.

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