SCRANTON – Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis has announced that the department is now offering an interactive map on its Web site that plots the locations of hundreds of prescription drug take-back boxes statewide.
The new interactive map was announced during a visit to the Lackawanna County Courthouse where one of the boxes associated with Gov. Tom Corbett’s Healthy Pennsylvania drug take-back initiative was unveiled. The initiative will fund up to 250 secure MedReturn boxes throughout the state, providing a safe, convenient and permanent place to dispose of any unwanted or unused prescription drugs.
“Statistics show that one in five high school students abuse prescription drugs, and the reality is they don’t have to look further than their own household medicine cabinet to find them,” Tennis said. “Governor Corbett’s Healthy Pennsylvania drug take-back initiative provides a permanent and convenient solution for disposing of unused prescription drugs, ultimately keeping them out of the hands of our youth and safely disposing of them.”
Tennis continued, “We’re happy to announce today that the department’s website now provides citizens with an interactive mapping tool enabling them to more easily find a drop-off location in their county.”
The interactive mapping tool can be found on the Department of Drug and Alcohol’s Web site, www.ddap.pa.gov, by clicking on the program’s graphic on the homepage and then clicking on the graphic on the following page to “find a location.”
Corbett’s Healthy Pennsylvania drug take-back initiative is a partnership between the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA), the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). PCCD administered the grants under the initiative, and PDAA has been working directly with district attorneys to encourage interest in the program and establish the boxes statewide.
PDAA also provided the data on the boxes to populate the interactive map. Additional drop box locations not supported by the grant, but known to DDAP, were also included on the map as a convenient one-stop resource for information about drop box locations statewide.
Corbett’s Healthy Pennsylvania plan focuses on improving access, ensuring quality, and providing affordability through a variety of initiatives such as promoting primary care and health information technology, convening a Healthy Pennsylvania Summit, and reforming Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program. For more information about the plan, visit www.pa.gov.