CVS adds drug-disposal boxes at 28 pharmacies

CVS Health announced Thursday that it has installed medicationdisposal units in 28 pharmacies throughout Ohio as part of a strategy developed in September to help battle opioid abuse.

The units — including six located in central Ohio — are bolted down, resemble mailboxes and are part of a plan to install the devices in 750 stores nationwide.

Nicole Harrington, a senior director on CVS Health’s pharmacy professional services team, said the boxes allow patients to dispose of unneeded medication in a secure and environmentally friendly way.

“CVS is very dedicated to preventing opioid abuse and misuse in the communities we serve,” she said. “Safe-disposal units support that mission.”

In central Ohio, a disposal box is located in one CVS pharmacy each in Columbus, Dublin, Lancaster, Pickerington, Westerville and Whitehall.

The pharmacy units are in addition to the more than 850 units donated to police departments nationwide, including 33 in Ohio, that have collected about 140 tons of unwanted medication since 2012, Harrington said.

Ernest Boyd, executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, said pharmacies were authorized to install the units after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration made changes to disposal laws in 2014.

“I’m really glad they’re doing it. I truly am,” Boyd said. “It’s a gift to the public.”

Pharmacies face security and tracking requirements, and collected medications must be disposed of through a reverse distributor that takes drugs back and incinerates them, said Cameron McNamee, director of policy and communications at the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

“Any opportunity to get medications out of the households that are no longer needed, particularly opiods, we think is crucial,” McNamee said.

According to the DEA, other pharmacies in central Ohio that have disposal sites include a number of Walgreens, Genoa Healthcare and Equitas Health sites, Ohio State University Outpatient Pharmacy in Columbus, Choice Pharmacy in Columbus, AHF Pharmacy in Columbus, Dave’s Pharmacy in Marysville and Berger Hospital in Circleville.

To search for a disposal location, visit www. deadiversion.usdoj.gov/ drug_disposal/index.html.