FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2016 Contact: Kraig Troxell, Public Information Officer, 703-771-5278 Kraig.Troxell@loudoun.gov Alex Kowalski, Public Information Officer, 703-777-0625 Aleksandra.Kowalski@loudoun.gov Loudoun County, VA- The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office announced today that drug collection units are now available at three of the agency’s stations to provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances. The drug collection units were awarded through a grant from CVS/pharmacy. The new units are intended to reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in residents’ homes and decrease 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 2014 Partnership for Drug-Free Kids study. “In Loudoun County, approximately 4 out of 5 heroin users began with prescription opiates. All too often, these medications are obtained by simply going into the medicine cabinet of their own homes,” said Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman. “It is imperative we remove unused and unneeded medications from our streets to help prevent abuse and combat this nationwide epidemic,” Sheriff Chapman added. The drug collection units are located at the Dulles South Public Safety Center, 25216 Loudoun County Parkway in Chantilly, the Eastern Loudoun Station, 46620 East Frederick Drive in Sterling and the University Station, 45299 Research Place, #100, in Ashburn. A collection unit will also be placed in Round Hill upon the completion of the Western Loudoun Station. Drop off is now available at the three current locations Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The service is free and anonymous. The new Drug Collection Units represent one of 1,000 Units CVS/pharmacy and The Medicine Abuse Project (MAP), a five-year initiative of The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, are providing across the country. This innovative donation program is the largest retail pharmacy effort of its kind to date and supports MAP’s goal to prevent a half million teenagers from abusing prescription medication by the year 2017. CVS/pharmacy is the sole retail pharmacy sponsor of this program, which builds on the company’s Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program. "CVS/pharmacy is dedicated to collaborating with organizations like The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and local law enforcement to prevent the abuse of unwanted and expired medication,” said Tom Davis, Vice President, Professional Services at CVS Health. “The installment of drug collection receptacles is part of our ongoing commitment to battle prescription drug abuse in the U.S. and to help people in the communities we serve on their path to better health.” The CVS/pharmacy and The Partnership For Drugs-Free Kids program has been incorporated into a regional heroin initiative called the Heroin Operations Team. In April 2015, Loudoun Sheriff Chapman joined U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock (VA-10th District) to form the HOT Team. HOT employs a comprehensive approach that includes enforcement (at all levels), education and prevention by incorporating local, state and federal law enforcement. ###