PHOENIX — CVS Health has expanded its safe medication disposal program to select CVS Pharmacy locations in Arizona to help facilitate proper and timely disposal of opioids and other medications that could be diverted or misused if left in medicine cabinets. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich attended the launch of the program at a Phoenix CVS Pharmacy location.
“Every day, our pharmacy teams see firsthand the impact of the alarming and rapidly growing epidemic of opioid addiction and misuse,” said Thomas Moriarty, chief policy and external affairs officer, CVS Health. “Expanding our safe medication disposal efforts here in Arizona is an extension of the many initiatives in place across our company to fight the opioid abuse epidemic and fulfill our purpose of helping people on their path to better health.”
“Reducing access to prescription drugs is a key component in preventing opioid abuse,” said attorney general Mark Brnovich. “I commend companies like CVS for stepping up and providing these public disposal boxes at a time when our community needs it.”
The 13 new medication disposal units installed in CVS Pharmacy locations across the state supplement the units CVS Health has donated to local law enforcement departments in Kingman, Tolleson and Wellton. Nationwide, the company has donated nearly 900 units to police departments, collecting more than 350,000 pounds, or 158 metric tons, of unwanted medication.
In addition to a $2 million national commitment to support addiction recovery in community health centers nationwide through the CVS Health Foundation, CVS Health also said it is awarding grants to two Arizona non-profit organizations working to fight and prevent opioid abuse. ICAN, a family-centered youth service organization in Chandler is receiving a $25,000 grant to support the organization’s Substance Abuse Prevention program. This program begins teaching youth as early as age five to develop the skills and confidence to make positive life choices, including resisting misuse of prescription drugs. ICAN uses five separate evidence-based curricula throughout the year, which are proven to successfully develop resiliency in youth.
Additionally, El Rio Health in Tucson, Arizona’s largest federally qualified community health center, will receive $85,000 to provide prescribers with support and education to appropriately and effectively manage their patients experiencing chronic pain and substance use.
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