Verde Valley AZ (September 17, 2014) – A Dump the Drugs event will be held on Saturday, September 27th, at 6 locations county-wide, including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Cottonwood, Sedona and Camp Verde. MATFORCE and area law enforcement are joining with the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Campaign to gather and safely dispose of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medication.
MATFORCE’s Dump the Drugs events are in their 6th year. Merilee Fowler, MATFORCE Executive Director, said, “We applaud all community members for bringing their unwanted medications for proper disposal to these events. Last year a record 2,900 pounds of medication was collected. We are seeing positive results in reducing prescription drug abuse among our youth, which fell from 24% in 2010 to 18% in 2012 according to the Arizona Youth Survey 30-day use category.”
The survey also reveals that over 30% of youth who abused prescription pills to get high say they took the pills right out of their own homes. Properly disposing of unwanted medication keeps potentially dangerous drugs from getting into the wrong hands. Safe disposal also keeps drugs from being improperly disposed of and getting into our water systems.
In the greater Prescott area, prescription and over-the-counter medications can be dropped off between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the following locations: Prescott Police Department, 222 S. Marina; Prescott Valley Police Department, 7601 E. Civic Circle; and the Chino Valley Police Department, 1020 W. Palomino Rd.
In the Verde Valley, prescription and over-the-counter medications can be dropped off between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM at the following locations: Sedona City Hall Vultee Conference Room, 102 Roadrunner Drive in West Sedona; Cottonwood Police Department, 199 S. 6th Street; and the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office at 646 S. First Street.
MATFORCE encourages everyone to look through their medicine cabinet for expired or unwanted medication and bring it to one of the drop-off locations. For more information call 928-708-0100 or visit the MATFORCE website at matforce.org.
