The Avondale Estates Police Department has received a grant for a drug collection unit as part of CVS’s Health’s Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program. The new unit will be located at City Hall, 21 North Avondale Plaza and will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances.
“Safely disposing of unused medication is critical to preventing prescription drug abuse and keeping pharmaceuticals out of our waterways,” said Chief of Police Lynn Thomas in the press release. “The Avondale Estates Police Department is proud to partner with CVS Health and we thank them for their commitment to helping residents reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in our community.”
The new drug disposal unit will help to reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in residents’ homes and decrease the potential for 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 Partnership for Drug-Free Kids study. Proper drug disposal also helps to prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication.
The Medication Disposal for Safer Communities program has donated more than 600 drug collection units to police departments across the country, which have collected more than 47 metric tons, or 100,000 pounds, of unwanted medication. CVS Health also assists law enforcement by supporting local drug take back events and promoting local drug disposal collection sites. CVS Pharmacy locations have taken part in more than 800 events sponsored by local law enforcement as part of National Drug Take-Back Day.
This new Drug Collection Unit in Avondale Estates open to the public 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked. In addition to this drug collection unit, the the Avondale Estates Police Department also accepts unwanted medications year-round for the community's convenience, as well as at National Drug Take Back Day events in April and October.