The Hawaiʻi Department of Attorney General is partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Hawaiʻi Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Enforcement Division, and other law enforcement agencies to coordinate prescription drug take-back events on Saturday, April 22 which is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Individuals with expired or unused prescription medications are encouraged to bring their medications to the collection sites located on Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi this Saturday from 10am-2pm.
National Take Back Initiatives (NTBIs) 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.
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.
A list of designated collection sites can be accessed at www.dea.gov/takebackday or www.ag.hawaii.gov. or hawaiiopioid.org.
