Maui News

Maui celebrates Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 22 in Wailuku and Kīhei

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People on Maui can properly dispose of their old and unused prescription medications during a take-back event April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Maui Police Department parking lots in Kīhei and Wailuku.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Attorney General is partnering with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Enforcement Division, and other law enforcement agencies to coordinate prescription drug take-back events on April 22, 2023, which is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Anyone with expired or unused prescription medications is encouraged to bring their medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023 to collection sites located on Maui, Hawaiʻi island, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu. Sites are posted below:

Maui:

  • Maui Police Department: Main Station – parking lot 55 Mahalani Street, Wailuku
  • Maui Police Department: Kīhei Station – parking lot 2201 Piʻilani Highway, Kīhei
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Hawaiʻi Island:

  • Hawaiʻi Police Department: Kona Station – parking lot 74-611 Hale Makaʻi Place, Kailua-Kona
  • Ka Waena Lapaʻau Medical Complex – upper parking lot at corner of Ponahawai and Komohana Streets 670 Ponahawai Street, Hilo

Kauaʻi:

  • Kauaʻi Police Department: Main Station – parking lot 3990 Kaʻana Street, Līhuʻe

Oʻahu:

  • Honolulu Fire Department: Kailua Station 18 – parking lot 211 Kuʻulei Road, Kailua
  • Hawaiʻi State Capitol – Beretania Street drive-thru 415 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu
  • Honolulu Police Department: Pearl City Station – parking lot 1100 Waimano Home Rd., Pearl City
  • Times Supermarkets Kahala – parking lot 1173 21st Ave., Honolulu
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National Take Back Initiatives are conducted twice a year and are free and anonymous services to the public – no questions asked. Tablets, capsules, liquids, and other forms of medication will be accepted. Everything can be kept in its original container. No labels need to be removed. Vaping devices will be accepted, but batteries must be removed. New or used syringes will not be accepted.

“Hawai‘i is not immune from the dangers of the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs,” said Valerie S. Mariano, the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General’s Chief of Community & Crime Prevention Branch. “The National Take Back Initiative is a way to safely and anonymously dispose of your prescription medications. Let’s work together to keep our homes and communities safe.”

“We urge the public to use this National Take Back Initiative to dispose of unwanted medications safety and securely,” said Jared Redulla, Administrator, Narcotics Enforcement Division, Department of Public Safety. It is the responsible thing to do to protect your ʻohana and community from drug misuse, accidental poisoning, and overdoes.”

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“The National Take Back Initiative began as a way for potentially dangerous medications to be properly disposed of in order to help keep our ʻohana as well as our environment safe,” said Victor Vazquez, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, US Drug Enforcement Administration, Honolulu District Office. Please join DEA and our partners in Hawaiʻi on April 22 in ridding our communities of any unused, unneeded, or expired medications you may have.”

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. 

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.

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