Business View Magazine - May 2016 13
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, representing
California’s 23rd congressional district and State As-
sembly Member Shannon Grove participated in the
event in Bakersfield.
“Our country is facing an epidemic of prescription drug
abuse and opioid overdoses. In our community, more
than 160 people over the past six years have been
sent to the emergency room for opioid overdoses. Ad-
diction tears apart families, it uproots communities
and it deprives Americans from grasping their dreams
and opportunities,” said House Leader McCarthy. “In
Congress I have worked with my colleagues to prepare
legislation to support local communities and to supple-
ment the efforts of local law enforcement and pharma-
cies as they work together to roll back this epidemic.
To successfully achieve this, we need strong commu-
nity partners. Walgreens is at the forefront of curbing
drug diversion through its safe disposal program, and
I’m proud that our community will be among the early
beneficiaries.”
Walgreens also is working to make naloxone, a po-
tentially lifesaving opioid antidote, available without
requiring a prescription from an individual’s physician
at California pharmacies. The medication is currently
available with a prescription in California and can be
used in the event of an overdose to reverse the effects
of heroin or other opioid drugs, and is administered by
injection or nasal spray.
“In addition to making it easier and safer for Califor-
nians to drop off their unwanted, unused or expired
medications in our participating stores, we’re also
working to expand access to naloxone in this state
and others,” said Roberto Valencia, Walgreens Opera-
tions Vice President for the Western Region. “Together,
these programs will go a long way to help address the
epidemic of prescription drug abuse and heroin over-
dose.”
In February, Walgreens announced plans to make nal-
oxone available without a prescription in 35 states
and Washington D.C. in accordance with each state’s
pharmacy regulations. Since its announcement, nalox-
one has been made available without a prescription
in more than 1,300 Walgreens pharmacies through-
out the states of Alabama, Indiana, Massachusetts,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. When
implementation of the program is complete, naloxone
will be available without a prescription in more than
5,800 of Walgreens nearly 8,200 stores.
The installation of safe medication disposal kiosks
in California is part of a nationwide effort and is ex-
pected to be completed at more than 500 Walgreens
locations later this year. The kiosks at Walgreens
pharmacies will be available during regular pharmacy
hours (24 hours a day at most of these locations) and
will offer one of the best ways to ensure medications
are not accidentally used or intentionally misused by
someone else.
Drug abuse continues to be a public health and safety
risk. More Americans die every day from drug over-
doses than from motor vehicle crashes, according to
the Office of National Drug Control Policy. About 4,500
Californians died following drug overdoses in 2014,
up by 1,500 (or 50 percent) from 2002, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
That same year, the CDC reported a national total of
47,055 drug overdose deaths, which include death
from prescription and illicit drugs. That is a 6.5 per-
cent increase from 2013 and a 140 percent increase
since 2000.
Walgreens also continues to participate in DEA spon-
sored National Prescription Drug Take Back Days,
serving as a collection point in communities for law
enforcement to collect unwanted, unused or expired
medications for safe disposal.
