Fayette County recorded 10 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2018; that figure more than tripled to 33 in 2019, then declined slightly to 25 in 2020. Fayette County’s emergency medical services reported that 44 overdoses occurred in 2019, which rose to 59 in 2020 and 95 in 2021. Drug Free Fayette, a nonprofit coalition based in Fayette County, reported that in 2022, 6.4 percent of Fayette County 12th-graders misused a prescription drug in the previous 30 days, 4 percent used heroin, and 3.9 percent used methamphetamine—all numbers that had increased from 2020. It also reported that the percentage of households that say they securely dispose of prescription drugs rose from 15 percent in 2017 to 22 percent in 2020.

The City of Fayetteville Police Department used Comprehensive Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Program funds to support Drug Free Fayette’s countywide goal of increasing the percentage of households that safely store prescription drugs from 14 percent in 2020 to 30 percent by 2023 and to increase the percentage of households that securely disposed of prescription drugs from 22 percent in 2020 to 40 percent by 2023. Funds were used to purchase three new drop boxes in the county—for placement with the Tyrone Police Department, the Fayette County or municipal fire departments, Fayetteville City Hall, or pharmacies—and 20,000 drug disposal pouches.