Oct 27, 2014 1 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Greene County sheriff’s office was awarded a grant from CVS Pharmacy to install a drug collection unit at the Church Street entrance at Greene County Courthouse.

The unit will provide residents with a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired medication, including controlled substances, said Sheriff Brian Tennant.

The drug collection unit is available for public access during normal courthouse hours, which are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is located just inside the courthouse doors. Anyone wishing to dispose of illegal drugs or unused medications is encouraged to place them anonymously into the unit.

Tennant explained 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.

Also, the new unit will help Greene County prevent the contamination of local landfills and water supplies from unused medication.