The Graham County Anti-Meth Coalition has received a $30,000 grant from the office of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to fight illegal drug use.

Members of the coalition’s board learned of the grant during a planning session Tuesday. Kathy Grimes, the coalition’s coordinator, said the group also has $8,000 to use for programs in Graham County schools.

The Anti-Meth Coalition began in 2003 with several Graham County social and law enforcement agencies banding together to fight the use of methamphetamines and other illegal drugs. Grimes said the coalition has received funding from the governor’s office for the last three years. Board members began mapping out its anti-drug abuse campaign for the next 12 months, including a presentation at the Eastern Arizona College at 11 a.m. Aug. 21 and a “dump the drugs day” Sept. 20 at the Mount Graham Regional Medical Center.

People can bring their expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines to the hospital for incineration. This type of disposal is preferred over flushing medicines down the toilet or placing them with household trash because traces of the drugs are leaching into the groundwater and surface water, experts say.

Grimes said the coalition’s dump the drugs day last spring was successful and resulted in area residents continuing to bring their old medications to the hospital for disposal.

Board members also talked about initiating a “safe and secure” program for keeping prescription drugs under lock and key. Metal boxes equipped with a lock will be purchased by the coalition and loaned to senior citizens and others. Medicines can be placed in these boxes, which are then locked. This would limit access to the medicines, thus reducing the number of thefts.

Abuse of prescription drugs has increased, especially in teens. Law enforcement officials say the drug abusers often steal the medications from family members.