Sun City Festival Residents,
Citizens looking to dispose of excess and expired prescription and over-the-counter medications can now visit the safe and secure permanent drop off location at Sun City Festival/Festival Foothills (Festival Ranch), Public Safety Facility (Police/Fire Station) 27360 W. Wagner Complex Drive, Buckeye AZ. 85396. The collection site (27360 W. Wagner Complex Drive, Publix Safety Facility) will be open on the first Tuesday of each month (excluding holidays) from 10 am to 2 pm. Members of the Citizens on Patrol team will be on hand to help citizens drop off drugs with no questions asked. Residents are asked to bring their drugs in ziplock bags for disposal. We accept pills only, including pet medicines, no liquids!
The Buckeye Police Department has established a permanent FREE drug collection program in order to reduce the supply of drugs that can potentially harm children, teens, and adults. "It's a way for us to get prescription drugs out of people's medicine cabinets and into the right hands for proper disposal" according to Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall. A recent survey showed that only 2% of people used all medications prior to expiration and that 90% disposed of their medications in the toilet, sink or garbage. Nearly 300 pounds of prescription drugs have been collected here at the Festival Ranch disposal since the inception of the program.
According to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) more than six million Americans abuse prescription drugs. Among youth who are 12-17 years old, 7.4% report past year non-medical use of prescription drugs.
Properly disposing of excess drugs is everyone's responsibility as a matter of public safety. More than 70 percent of young people abusing prescription pain relievers get them through friends of family , a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet. Festival Ranch citizens don't have to wait for a specific take-back day to clean out their medicine cabinets. We are available for disposal monthly!!
Contact:
Don McWilliams
Neighborhood Services Manager
dmcwilliams@buckeyeaz.gov
(623) 271-1959
Vicki Cook
Festival Ranch Program Administrator
Buckeye Police Volunteer
vcook@att.net
(530) 949-6748
Join the Neighborhood Block Watch Program. Visit our web page for more information.
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