Google wants to help answer this question: Where can I drop off drugs I don’t need?
As the United States experiences an opioid crisis, a new tool is designed to help people find places to throw away extra medications.
Google Maps has started a pilot that shows users nearby drug disposal sites, according to a press release. Dane Glasglow, vice president of product, said in a blog post people had been using the search engine to look up drop-off locations.
For the project, Google Maps says it is partnering with CVS, Walgreens and federal and state agencies. The new tool shows 35,000 places, which could be a “pharmacy, hospital, or government building,” the press release said.
More than 47,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdoses in 2017, according to the CDC.
“Addiction to opioids can start after just five days of use, and the majority of prescription drug abuse (53%) starts with drugs obtained from family and friends,” according to the release.
This story was originally published February 21, 2019 at 4:21 PM.
