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Giles County Sheriff’s Department
Chief Deputy Tommy Chapman
931-363-3505


CVS/pharmacy and The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids Help Giles County Combat Drug Abuse and Safer Disposal of Unused Medication

Giles County Sheriff’s Department receives grant for Drug Collection Unit
Giles County Sheriff’s Department, October 3, 2014 – announced today that it has been awarded a grant from CVS/pharmacy to install a Drug Collection Unit. The new Unit will be located at The Sheriff’s office 200 Thomas Gatlin Drive in Pulaski and will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances. If anyone questions about what they can drop off please contact Deputy Wayne Rudd at 931-363-3505.
The new Unit is 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.
The new Unit will also help Giles County prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication.
“Safely disposing of unused medication is critical to protecting our children and our environment,” said Sheriff Kyle Helton. “We are proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy and we thank them for their commitment to help residents reduce the amount of unneeded medicine in our community.” The Sheriff’s Office recently collected 140 pounds of unwanted medication in the annual take back program with the DEA and properly disposed of the unwanted medication
The new Drug Collection Unit represents 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 Josh Flum, Senior Vice President of Retail Pharmacy 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.”
CVS/pharmacy also assists law enforcement by supporting local drug take back events and promoting local drug disposal collection sites. CVS/pharmacy has conducted drug collection campaigns utilizing their retail locations, including several National Drug Take Back Day events. Law enforcement agencies which operate their own on-going collection site programs can also arrange to have the address and hours of their operations posted in local CVS/pharmacy stores.
The new Drug Collection Unit site is open to the public from the hours of 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Monday through Friday excluding holidays and prescription drugs can be dropped off with no questions asked. Giles County residents and CVS/pharmacy customers can also inquire about the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program at the toll free phone number 1-866-559-8830 or visit www.cvs.com/safercommunities.
About CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is America's leading retail pharmacy with more than 7,700 CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drug stores in the U.S. CVS/pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on their path to better health by providing the most accessible and personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Health is available at www.cvshealth.com.
About the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids

The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids is dedicated to reducing teen substance abuse and supporting families impacted by addiction. We develop public education campaigns that drive awareness of teen substance abuse, and lead teen-targeted efforts that inspire young people to make positive decisions to stay healthy and avoid drugs and alcohol. On our website, drugfree.org, and through our toll-free helpline (1-855-DRUGFREE), we provide families with direct support and guidance to help them address teen substance abuse. Finally, we build healthy communities, advocating for great access to adolescent treatment and funding for youth prevention programs. As a national nonprofit, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and the public sector and are thankful to SAG-AFTRA and the advertising and media industries for their ongoing generosity.
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