Medication disposal kiosk placed in Cathedral City Walgreens
A new safe medication disposal kiosk is now in place at the Walgreens pharmacy, located at 33975 Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City. This is the second such kiosk in the Coachella Valley; the other is located in Palm Desert at 44840 Monterey Avenue.
Congressman Raul Ruiz, Cathedral City Councilmember Mark Carnevale and Cathedral City Police Lieutenant Glen Haas were at Monday’s event, which marked California’s continued implementation to combat drug abuse, after a comprehensive national plan was announced earlier this year.
Prescription drug disposal is one of the key contributors to the crisis, officials said Monday morning.
The safe medication disposal kiosk will give residents near Cathedral City a safe and convenient way to dispose of their unwanted, unused or expired prescriptions, including controlled substances and over-the-counter medications, at no cost.
Walgreens has installed 50 safe medication disposal kiosks in its stores across the state. Health officials said the kiosks help reduce the misuse of medications and the rise in overdose deaths.
“By making safe medication disposal kiosks available in select California stores and expanding to other states this year, Walgreens is taking an important first step to curb the misuse of medications throughout the country,” said Alex Gourlay, President of Walgreen Co. “As a pharmacy, we are committed to playing a role in what must be a comprehensive solution to prevent prescription drug and opioid abuse.”
Monday’s kiosk unveiling in Cathedral City helped launch the safe medication disposal program in California. Walgreens officials said they were honored to have Congressman Ruiz at the event, whom is working to fight the drug abuse crisis.
“As a physician, I know first-hand the damaging impact prescription drug abuse can have on individuals and their families. That’s why I’ve joined with Walgreens to unveil this program to help combat overdoses and reduce instances of medication misuse,” said Dr. Ruiz. “I have treated too many patients in the ER who fell victim to drug addiction with unused opioid pills around their homes. These kiosks will make disposal safe and simple. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this resource here in Cathedral City or any of the 50 disposal sites around the state.”
California Walgreens with safe medication disposal kiosks:
Alameda – 2300 Otis Drive
Anaheim — 3446 W. Ball Road
Arleta — 9750 Woodman Ave.
Bakersfield — 9550 Hageman Road
Bellflower — 9031 Rosecrans Ave.
Burlingame — 260 El Camino Real
Cathedral City – 33975 Date Palm Drive
Chico — 860 East Ave.
Chino — 12490 Central Ave.
Citrus Heights — 6144 Dewey Drive
El Cerrito — 11565 San Pablo Ave.
Elk Grove — 7299 Laguna Blvd.
Fontana — 16108 Foothill Blvd.
Freedom — 1810 Freedom Blvd.
Fresno — 1016 W. Shaw Ave; 626 S. Clovis Ave.
Fullerton — 1826 W. Orangethorpe Ave.
Gardena — 1344 W. Redondo Beach Blvd.
Hesperia — 17051 Bear Valley Road
Huntington Beach — 19001 Brookhurst St.
La Puente — 934 N. Hacienda Blvd.
Lodi — 75 N. Ham Lane
Long Beach — 2627 Pacific Ave.
Los Angeles — 3201 W. 6th St.
Los Gatos –423 N. Santa Cruz Ave.
Menifee — 30251 Murrieta Road
Mountain View — 121 E. El Camino Real
Oceanside — 3752 Mission Ave.
Palm Desert — 44840 Monterey Ave.
Riverside — 8044 Limonite Ave.
San Diego — 3222 University Ave.
San Francisco — 5280 Geary Blvd; 1189 Potrero Ave.; 275 Sacramento St; 498 Castro St; 3201 Divisardero St.
San Jose – 350 N. Capitol Ave.
San Leandro — 15500 Washington Ave.
Santa Cruz — 1718 Soquel Ave.; 201 Front St.
Santa Maria — 2399 S. Broadway
Santa Rosa — 4610 Sonoma Hwy.
Scotts Valley — 210 Mount Hermon Road
Seaside — 1055 Fremont Road
Turlock — 1591 Geer Road
Tustin — 13052 Newport Ave.
Vallejo — 1050 Redwood St.
Van Nuys — 5224 Coldwater Canyon Ave.
Visalia — 100 W. Walnut Ave.
Walnut Creek — 2900 Main St.
Yuba City — 855 Colusa Ave.
