National take-back initiative set for Oct. 27
Unused, expired medications at home increase risks of poisonings
Unused or expired medications may be disposed of safely this month during a national take-back initiative with the state Department of the Attorney General and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that includes a collection site on Maui.
The medications will be collected from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Maui Police Department parking lot at 55 Mahalani St. in Wailuku.
Now in its ninth year in Hawaii, the collection effort “is a safe way to dispose of unneeded prescription medications so that they don’t cause harm to people or pollute the environment,” said Attorney General Russell Suzuki.
The service is free and anonymous — no questions asked. Tablets, capsules, liquids and other forms of medication will be accepted. New or used needles and syringes will not be taken.
The event also is being held the same day at sites on Oahu, Hawaii island and Kauai.
From September 2010 to April of this year, nearly 41,000 pounds of pharmaceuticals were safely collected and disposed of at previous 15 take-back events. Nationally, the take-backs have collected 5,000 tons of pharmaceuticals since the fall of 2010.
People unable to drop off their unused or expired medications on Oct. 27 can go to hawaiiopioid.org to look for a nearby location to drop them off anonymously.
An announcement of the event points out that old medications should be disposed of because they may no longer be effective, could be dangerous in illegal drug use or could increase the risk of accidental poisonings, especially with young children and elderly people. Medications can be mistaken for another type of medicine. Children may mistake them for candy.
Expired medications should not be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet. Proper disposal helps reduce the risk of prescription drugs tainting the domestic water supply or polluting the ocean.
For more information, visit www.dea.gov or www.ag.hawai.gov.