The Attorney General's Office, law enforcement agencies and community organizations such as the Arizona Affiliate of the Partnership for a Drug Free America are collaborating together to educate families about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

According to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission's 2008 Arizona Youth Survey

• Arizona 12th graders are abusing prescription drugs at rates that are double the national average (25% vs 13%).
• In Arizona 1 out of 4 Arizona 10th graders and 1 out of 6 Arizona 8th graders have abused a prescription mediation to get high.
  
  For the entire report click here.
  
  

• Make sure you keep track of the prescription medications in your home.
• Keep the prescription drugs in a safe place, not easily accessible by your kids or their friends.
• Make sure other family members (such as grandparents) and neighbors monitor and keep safe the prescription drugs in their homes.

• Never flush them down the toilet.
• When throwing prescription medications away, mix with undesirable garbage such as cat litter, coffee grounds, or wet trash.
• Check if your local pharmacy has a "Give Back" program for unused prescription medication.
• Check with local law enforcement for prescription drug disposal programs.
  
  For more information on proper disposal methods click here.