Bartonville receives CVS grant for drug collection unit

by Corry Blount, Bartonville Chief of Police

The Bartonville Police Department was awarded a grant for a drug collection unit as part of CVS Health’s Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program.

The new unit is located at 1941 East Jeter Road in the Town Hall lobby and provides residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances.

CVS Health is dedicated to helping the communities they serve address and prevent prescription drug abuse.  With CVS’s help, Bartonville PD can help reduce the amount of unused and unwanted medication in the home; a point critical to preventing prescription drug abuse.

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.

Bartonville PD is proud to partner with CVS Health and the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to increase convenient access to safe medication disposal.  We thank them for their commitment to helping residents reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in our community.

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.

Bartonville’s new Drug Collection Unit site is open to Bartonville residents from the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked.

Bartonville residents and CVS Pharmacy customers can also inquire about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program at 1-866-559-8830 or visit www.cvs.com/content/prescription-drug-abuse.  Further questions regarding the Collection Unit can be directed to the Police Department by calling 817-693-5280.