Attorney General Curtis Hill joined CVS Health officials at a press conference Thursday to discuss the pharmacy company’s plans to create drug-disposal collection points at 49 CVS Pharmacy stores in Indiana. CVS Health is replicating these actions at 750 locations nationwide. This initiative complements the Attorney General’s ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of unused and unneeded prescription medication lingering in Hoosier households.
Hill
“Over the years, CVS obviously has played a role in distributing medication to consumers,” Hill said. “Today, the leaders of this company recognize the problems posed by an excessive supply of prescription drugs. Further, they want to be part of the solution, and I commend CVS for taking this kind of initiative.”
Hill cited troubling statistics related to the prevalence of prescription drug abuse.
“Abuse of prescription medicine is a big part of our overall drug crisis,” Hill said. “Across the United States, more than 6 million people abuse controlled prescription drugs. Here in Indiana, nearly one in 20 Hoosiers reports having used opioid pain relievers for non-medical uses, and a majority of abused medication comes from family and friends of users. We’re doing good work whenever we get these drugs out of people’s medicine cabinets and properly discarded.”
CVS Health Chief Policy and External Affairs Officer Thomas Moriarty said expanding the company’s safe medication disposal efforts will help get unused prescription drugs out of medicine cabinets where they could be diverted or abused.
“CVS Health is dedicated to addressing and preventing opioid abuse in the communities we serve in Indiana and across the country,” he said. “Expanding our safe medication disposal program is one of the many initiatives we support to fulfill that commitment and our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.”
Success in addressing challenges requires cooperation among officials from multiple disciplines, said Steuben County Sheriff Tim Troyer, president of the Indiana Sheriff’s Association.
“It’s critical that law enforcement and healthcare providers work hand in hand in tackling the opioid crisis,” he said. “Sheriffs’ offices statewide have long been locations where citizens can safely dispose of medications.”
These sheriffs’ offices, police departments and all of the new CVS locations can be found on a new section of the Indiana Attorney General’s website. Go to in.gov/attorneygeneral and click on the “alert” at the top of the home page. There you can easily find a drug disposal location near your home or business.
At the event, CVS Health also announced a grant to support the Riley Children’s Health Adolescent Dual Diagnosis Program. The program supports local opioid recovery efforts, providing an integrated intervention for children and adolescents with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems.