Drug disposal programs have been refered to as an effective tool in the battle against narcotic maltreatment by medical investigations and the White House. Presently Google is helping out by pinpointing 3,500 of these drop-off sites on Google Maps and by means of Search in partnership with the DEA, HHS, CVS, Walgreens and state governments. Search terms like “drug drop off near me” or “medication disposal near me” will show the permanent disposal locations at pharmacies, hospitals or government buildings.
A year ago, Walgreens and CVS Health included hundreds more prescription take-back kiosks to their drugstores around the nation. What’s more, prior this year, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy suggested extending Drug disposal sites. Google claims it will keep on including extra locations and statewide information to Google Maps.
The update expands upon the web-based locator it revealed a year ago as a major aspect of the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Google asserts that with the assistance of the tool, the DEA and its local partners gathered a record 1.85 million pounds of unused prescription drugs in 2018.
“Every day, over 130 people in this country die from an opioid overdose…and the majority of prescription drug abuse (53 percent) starts with drugs obtained from family and friends,” Dane Glasglow, VP of product, Google Maps, said in a blog post. “That’s why Google wants to help people get rid of their leftover pills that are sitting in people’s medicine cabinets.”
