In 2014, the Winchester Police Department was awarded a grant for a Drug Collection Unit through the CVS/pharmacy Medication Disposal for Safer Community Program. The Drug Collection Unit is located outside of the Timbrook Public Safety Center and provides residents with a safe and environmentally-responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused, or expired medication, including controlled substances.
The 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% of teenagers say it is easy to get prescription drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinets, according to a 2014 study by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.
The unit also helps prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies by unused medication. As of November 2016, the Winchester Police Department has collected 1,240 pounds of medication and continues to collect an average of 50 pounds of unused or expired medication each month.