National Take Back Day of prescription drugs is Oct. 29

Do you have unused or expired prescription medication you want to dispose of safely and anonymously?

The national Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Oct. 29, with all the main Hawaiian Islands participating.

The national initiative is a joint effort of the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Enforcement Division, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies.

There are two collection points on Maui, which are in operation from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

• Maui Police Department: Main Station, 55 Mahalani Street in Wailuku
• Kīhei Police Station: 2201 Piʻilani Highway in Kīhei

This is the second and last take back for 2022. The April event resulted in the collection and disposal of 4,000 pounds of unused and expired prescriptions for the DEA Hawaiʻi District which includes Guam. A total of 60,000 pounds has been collected since 2010. 

Most locations will be conducted as drive-thrus. You don’t need to remove labels or take pills out of the containers. Simply toss in a disposable bag and drop them off at the drive-thru locations. This service is free and anonymous – no questions asked. All forms of medication will be accepted.

Do not include syringes; they will not be accepted.  Vaping devices with batteries removed will be accepted.

“Safe storage and disposal are ways we can prevent misuse and accidental overdose of prescription drugs,” Hawai‘i Attorney General Holly T. Shikada said. “Nationally, two-thirds of teens who misused pain relievers say they got them from family and friends, including their home’s medicine cabinets. Let’s work together to keep our young people and community safe.”

Unused or expired medicine should be properly disposed of when no longer needed for which it was prescribed.

• Medicines may lose their effectiveness after the expiration date.
• Improper use of prescription drugs can be as dangerous as illegal drug use.
• Having unused or expired medicine in your home increases the risk of accidental poisoning. Homes where children or the elderly live are especially vulnerable to this danger.
• People may mistake one type of medicine for another; or children may mistake medicine for candy.

Medicine should not be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet. Proper disposal reduces the risk of prescription drugs entering the human water supply or potentially harming aquatic life. Additional information can be found at dea.gov.

For a list of collection sites, visit ag.hawaii.gov or takebackday.dea.gov.

If you are unable to participate in the National Take Back Initiative, a list of drug take back drop box locations is available at hawaiiopioid.org