The new drug disposal facilities at CVS locations are part of the company's broader efforts to combat the opioid crisis in Virginia.
This June, local leaders came together at a Richmond CVS to announce the launch of new "safe drug disposal" facilities. The new drug disposal facilities at CVS locations are part of the company's broader efforts to combat the opioid crisis in Virginia.
As part of this initiative, CVS announced the installation of 32 new medication disposal units at pharmacies across the state. The company also made headlines last year when it became among the first local pharmacies to offer the drug Naloxone, a life-saving antidote to opioid overdose, at its stores free of charge.
CVS hopes the safe medication disposal units will encourage people not to leave dangerous medicine unattended. "[We hope to] help facilitate the timely disposal of opioids and other medications that could be misused if left in cabinets," the project's mission states.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring attended the launch to show his support. He was surrounded by other local leaders partnering with the store, including Deputy Chief of Police Lt. Col. Dan Kelly, addiction specialist Dr. Peter Breslin, and McShin Foundation CEO Honesty Brackett Liller.
Courtesy of CVS
"This is an important step in combatting fatal heroin and prescription drug overdoses and provides a safe way for Virginians to get these unused or unwanted drugs out of their homes," Attorney General Mark Herring said at the event. "Many times opioid addiction begins with the medicine cabinet, which is why it is crucial that we dispose of these drugs before they get into the hands of someone who could misuse or abuse them."
Herring is right. A Consumer Reports study of 1,006 Americans reported that approximately one third of Americans with controlled substance prescriptions have not dispensed of their leftover drugs in over one year. According to a 2016 study by JAMA Internal Medicine, one-half of adults said they simply kept these drugs because they didn't know what else to do with them.
These leftover drugs impact one group of new users in particular: teenagers. The Center for Behavioral Health and Statistics found that, for American teenagers, addiction often begins at home. The CBHS report said over 276,000 teenagers have taken opiates they were not prescribed from home medicine cabinets. Of this number, 122,000 reported developing an addiction to painkillers that began with leftover medicine found in parents' cabinets during their teenage years.
(Courtesy of Drug Store News)
As part of its broader strategy to combat addiction, CVS has also donated over 900 safe drug disposal units to police stations nationwide, collecting over 350,000 pounds of unused medication. Chesterfield's Deputy Chief of Police Lt. Col. Dan Kelly said the opioid crisis has hit the Richmond region hard, and he hopes other stores that dispense prescription drugs will implement similar programs.
"Chesterfield County and the Metro Richmond area, like communities across the country, are grappling with the devastating impacts of addiction," said Lt. Col. Kelly said at the event. "Our department welcomes additional programs to the county as we continuously work, internally and collaboratively with other entities, to reduce the negative consequences of addiction through prevention, education, outreach, and enforcement."
CVS recognizes that it plays a role in the epidemic as a dispenser of pharmaceutical drugs, and it plans to combat that by making drug disposal safe and easy. The company plans to expand the program nationwide, with plans to install 750 more "Safe Medication Disposal" units at its stores this coming year.
