Yuma police, DEA host take-back event for unwanted medications

More than five people die every day from opioid overdoses in Arizona, a sobering backdrop for the bottles and blister packs many Yuma households keep long after a prescription ends. On Saturday, the Yuma Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration will try to thin that supply with a free, anonymous medication take-back event at YPD Headquarters, 1500 S. 1st Avenue.

The collection runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a twice-yearly federal effort aimed at keeping unused medicines out of the wrong hands. DEA materials say the program is designed to prevent misuse, accidental overdoses and poisonings, while giving residents a simple place to bring expired, unused or unwanted medications.

The drop-off will accept tablets, capsules, patches and other prescription drug forms. It will not accept syringes, sharps, liquids or illegal drugs. That matters because the event is meant to be fast and low-risk: people can clear out medicine cabinets without sorting through complicated disposal rules or storing extra pills at home any longer than necessary.

The scale of the problem reaches far beyond one county. The Arizona Department of Health Services says Arizona declared a public health emergency in 2017 to confront rising opioid deaths. The state reported 1,927 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, and a later ADHS update said Arizona recorded 2,617 overdose deaths in the 12 months ending March 2024, including 1,888 opioid-related deaths.

Yuma County’s numbers have moved in the right direction but still show why prevention remains urgent. County health data released in November 2025 listed 37 overdose cases eligible for review in 2024, down from 40 in 2023 and 56 in 2021. Even with that decline, leftover medication in a kitchen drawer or bathroom cabinet can still become an easy target for misuse, theft or accidental ingestion, especially in homes with children, teens or visitors.

The April 25 collection will be the 30th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Since 2010, the DEA says the program has removed more than 20 million pounds of unwanted medication nationwide. The October 25, 2025 event alone collected 571,054 pounds from 4,317 sites across the country.

YPD has publicized similar DEA take-back events at the same headquarters before, including one on April 27, 2024 and another in October 2025. Saturday’s collection continues that recurring effort, giving Yuma residents a direct way to clear out medicine cabinets and reduce the risks that unused prescriptions can create at home.