Arizona Police Departments Helping With Prescription Drug Disposal

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on August 5, 2014 under Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article

Prescription drug abuse is a widespread epidemic that is sweeping the nation. Most addicts report that they obtain prescription painkillers by searching through medicine cabinets and stealing anything they find. Many people will have a prescription for these drugs, use what they need and then forget that they have the drugs in their home. In order to handle this problem, the Arizona State University Police Department and other law enforcement agencies throughout the Phoenix area are working together to bring awareness to the necessity of disposing of any unused prescriptions.

Ten new drug collection containers will be placed throughout Phoenix police departments. “ASU’S Police Department is committed to the safety of the university community, and this service is available for any citizen to use. Dropping off unused prescription drugs for safe disposal by police ensures that dangerous substances won’t be used for illicit purposes,” explained Michael Thompson of the ASU Police Department.

Getting these harmful and highly addictive drugs off the street is a high priority for police and policymakers. Phoenix is a city that is filled with college students and children who do not need to fall victim to a prescription drug abuse problem. New statistics show that most heroin addicts started their opiate addictions by consuming prescription pain medication. The hope is that by reducing the availability of prescription painkillers, lawmakers are effectively preventing people from becoming addicted to heroin in the future.

Making sure that residents of the community have a safe place to drop off unused medications is not a new thing; but the more communities that implement this service the more difficult it is for addicts to get their hands on the drugs. The hope is that more and more communities throughout Arizona will follow Phoenix’s lead and establish drop off sites within their own communities. While Arizona State University’s container has yet to be installed, it will be soon. Until the container is installed, anyone can dispose of their unused medications in other containers throughout the city. Arizona State University has also created an interactive map on their website where people can locate the nearest drop off site.