May 11, 2016
Arizonans turn in nearly 6 tons of prescription drugs to DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Phoenix Field Division finalized the collection and tally of prescription drugs turned in this past Saturday in conjunction with DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. In all, citizens across Arizona turned in over 12,712 pounds of controlled substances from their homes in a statewide cooperative effort between communities and law enforcement to safely dispose of dangerous drugs and prevent the onset of drug addiction.
DEA, along with federal, state and local law enforcement partners in over 49 locations throughout Arizona, hosted collection sites to return all unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe and anonymous disposal. Nationally, over 4,200 law enforcement agencies collected over 893,000 pounds (447 tons) of expired or unwanted prescription drugs.
“Arizonans continue to respond to the increasing threat of opioid addiction and showed up in huge numbers turning in over 2,000 pounds more in total prescription drugs than last year’s event,” said Douglas Coleman, Special Agent in Charge of DEA in Arizona. “DEA will continue to sponsor these Take Back events and work with the community to safely dispose of these drugs and further curb the onset of opioid addiction.”
To date, Arizonans have turned well over 103,112 pounds, or over 51 tons, of controlled substances to DEA for safe disposal.
