Beginning today, Virginians with excess or unused prescription opioids or other drugs can pick up a drug deactivation kit at one of dozens of locations throughout the Commonwealth.
Attorney General Mark R. Herring secured the donation of 80,000 drug deactivation kits capable of safely disposing of 3.6 million leftover prescription pills as part of his comprehensive strategy to address the heroin and prescription opioid crisis. Kits are being distributed at Virginia Department of Health Clinics, Community Service Boards, and law enforcement, healthcare, and nonprofit agencies in every community in Virginia. The list of distribution sites is listed below, as well as an interactive map of sites, and Virginians are encouraged to call before going to pick up a kit to confirm availability.
“Disposing of unused and unneeded prescriptions is an important part of fighting the opioid crisis that so often starts in the medicine cabinet with abuse or misuse of otherwise legally prescribed painkillers,” said Attorney General Herring. “These kits are going to make it easy for Virginians to safely and quickly dispose of excess prescriptions before they can be abused, misused, or accidentally ingested. I’m really glad we were able to make these so widely available through our partnership with VDH and other community partners around the Commonwealth.”
All kits are available at no charge to Virginians or the Commonwealth. Approximately 50,000 kits are being distributed in partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, while an additional 30,000 are being distributed through local hospitals, law enforcement agencies, pharmacies, and nonprofits that applied to distribute kits.
There is a strong link between misuse of prescription opioids, opioid addiction, and even later use of heroin once prescriptions become too expensive or are no longer accessible.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse:
- Half of young people who used heroin got started by abusing prescription opioids.
- One in fifteen individuals who misuse prescription opioid painkillers will try heroin within 10 years.
- The number of opioid prescriptions has nearly tripled over the last 25 years, and the United States now accounts for nearly 100 percent of the world’s hydrocodone prescriptions and 81 percent for oxycodone.
- The number of Americans abusing heroin nearly doubled from 2007 to 2012, with nearly 700,000 now abusing heroin.
- In Virginia, abuse and overdose deaths continue to rise:
- Prescription opioid overdose deaths have risen 44 percent between 2007 and 2015, from 399 deaths to 576.
- Heroin overdose deaths have risen more than 600 percent between 2010 and 2015, from 48 to 342.
- Fentanyl deaths have risen 367 percent from 2007 to 2015, from 48 to 224.
- More than 500 people went to a Virginia emergency room from a heroin overdose in the first four months of 2016, a 250% increase over 2015.
Attorney General Herring has made combating the heroin and prescription opioid epidemic a top priority, attacking the problem with a multifaceted approach that includes enforcement, education, prevention, and legislation to encourage reporting of overdoses in progress, expand the availability of naloxone, and expand access to the Prescription Monitoring Program. He has supported federal efforts to improve the availability of treatment and recovery resources and recently partnered with U.S. Attorney Dana Boente to create the Hampton Roads Heroin Working Group to develop holistic, community-driven solutions to the heroin and opioid crisis.
Kits are available at the following locations throughout the Commonwealth, and Virginians are encouraged to contact the distribution partner to ensure kits are still available.
ORGANIZATION NAME
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LOCATION
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PHONE NUMBER
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SHENANDOAH VALLEY
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Central Shenandoah Health Districts
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1414 N Augusta St Staunton VA 24402
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Rockbridge Community Service Board
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241 Greenhouse Rd Lexington VA 24450
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Great Augusta Prevention Partners
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900 Nelson St Staunton VA 24401
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Central Shenandoah Valley Office on Youth
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413 Port Republic Road Waynesboro, VA 22908
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Rockingham Memorial Hospital and Martha Jefferson Hospital
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2010 Health Campus Dr Harrisonburg VA 22801
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Rockbridge/Lexington Health District
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300 White Street Lexington, VA 24450
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Rockingham Harrisonburg Health District
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110 North Mason Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801
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Waynesboro City Health District
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211 West 12th Street Waynesboro, VA 22980
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NORTHWEST
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Lord Fairfax Health District
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10 Baker Street Winchester, VA 24402
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NorthWestern Community Service Board
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501 S Cameron St, Winchester, VA 22601
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Frederick County Sheriffs Office
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1080 Coverstone Dr, Winchester, VA 22602
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Northern Shenandoah Valley Substance Abuse Coalition
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Environmental Health
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107 North Kent Street Suite 201 Winchester, VA 22601
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Clarke County Health District
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100 North Buckmarsh Street Berryville VA 22611
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Page County Health District
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75 Court Lane Luray VA 22835
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Shenandoah County Health District
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494 North Main Street Suite 100 Woodstock, VA 22664
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Warren County Health District
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465 West 15th Street Suite 200 Front Royal VA 22630
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CENTRAL
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Greene Pharmacy
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331 Main Street Standardsville, VA
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Madison County Commonwealth Attorneys office
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15 Court Square Madison, VA
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UVA Student Health Pharmacy (*Kits will be available next week*)
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400 Brandon Ave, Charlottesville, VA
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Blue Ridge Poison Center at UVA (*Kits will be available next week*)
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1222 Jefferson Park Ave Charlottesville VA
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UVA Hospital (*Kits will be available next week*)
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PO Box 800674
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Rappahannock/Rapidan Health District
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450 N Madison Road Orange VA 22960
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Thomas Jefferson Health District (*Kits will be available next week*)
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1138 Rose Hill Dr Charlottesville VA 22903
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Central VA Health District
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307 Alleghany Ave Lynchburg VA 24501
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Piedmont Health District
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111 South St Farmville VA 23901
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Horizon Behavioral Health
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2215 Langhorne Road Suite 103 Lynchburg, VA 24501
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA
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PWC Community Service
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7969 Ashton Ave Manassas ,VA
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Arlington Community Service Board
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2100 Washington Blvd, 3rd Floor, Arlington VA 22204
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Alexandria Health District
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4480 King St Alexandria VA 22302
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Arlington Health District
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2100 Washington Blvd, 2rd Floor, Arlington VA 22204
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Fairfax Health District
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3750 Old Lee Highway Fairfax VA 22030
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Fairfax Falls Church Community Service Board
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8221 Willow Oaks Corporate Drive Suite 3 East Fairfax VA 22031
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Rappahannock Health District
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1320 Central Park Blvd Suite 300 Fredericksburg VA
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Loudoun Health District
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1 Harrison St SE Leesburg VA 20177
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Fairfax County Health Department – Annandale
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7611 Little River Turnpike Suite 400 E Annandale, VA 22003
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Fairfax County Health Department – Herndon/Reston
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1850 Cameron Glen Drive Suite 100 Reston, VA 20190
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Fairfax County Health Department Mt. Vernon/Alexandria
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8350 Richmond Highway Suite 233 Alexandria, VA 22309
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Fairfax County Health Department – Springfield
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8136 Old Keene Mill Road The Cary Building Suite A100 Springfield, VA 22152
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Alexandria Health District – Casey Health Center Pharmacy
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1200 North Howard Street Alexandria VA 22304
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SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
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Cumberland Plateau Health District
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224 Clydesway Drive Lebanon VA 24266
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Lenowisco Health District
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134 Roberts Ave SW Wise VA 24293
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Mount Rogers Health District (*Kits will be available next week*)
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201 Francis Marion Lane Marion VA 24354
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New River Health District
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210 South Pepper St Suite A Christiansburg VA 24073
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Roanoke Health District
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1502 Williamson Road Roanoke VA 24012
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Mount Rogers Community Service Board
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540 West Main Street Wytheville VA 24382
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Dickenson County Behavioral Health
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440 Fox Town Road Clintwood VA 24228
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Abingdon Police Department (*Kits will be available next week*)
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425 West Main Street Abingdon, VA
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Food City Pharmacy (*Kits will be available next week*)
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145 West Lee Highway Chilhowie, VA
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New Horizons Healthcare Clinic
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3716 Melrose Ave NW Roanoke VA
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Roanoke Police Department
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5925 Cove Road Roanoke VA
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Washington County Sheriff’s Office (*Kits will be available next week*)
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20281 Rustic Lane Abingdon VA
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Bristol Dept of Social Services (*Kits will be available next week*)
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621 Washington Street Bristol VA
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Highland Community Services (*Kits will be available next week*)
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610 Campus Drive Abingdon VA
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Roanoke Sheriff’s Office
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340 Campbell Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24016
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Twin County Prevention Coalition
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6999 Carrollton Pike, Suite 1, Galax, VA 24333
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Prevention Council of Roanoke
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5937 Cove Rd. Roanoke, VA 24019
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Frontier Health
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43 Champions Ave, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
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Appalachian Coalition for Substance Abuse
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113 Cumberland Road, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609
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276-964-670
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Washington County Prevention Coalition
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610 Campus Drive, Abingdon, VA
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Lee County Health Department
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134 Hill Street Jonesville VA 24263
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Scott County Health Department
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190 Beech Street Suite 102 Gate City VA 24251
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