The Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General is partnering with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Hawai‘i Department of Law Enforcement, Narcotics Enforcement Division and local law enforcement agencies to participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The event be on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Anyone with expired or unused medications is encouraged to bring them to the drivethrough collection sites located on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and Hawai‘i island. Go to http://ag.hawaii.gov for a list of the April 26 take back locations in Hawai‘i. The take back events 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 also be accepted, but batteries must be removed. New or used syringes will not be accepted. “The National Take Back Initiative demonstrates DEA’s commitment in promoting the health and safety of Hawai‘i residents,” says DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Victor Vazquez, of the Honolulu District Office. “With this event, DEA encourages members of the community to bring unused and expired medications out of their homes for disposal at designated collection sites located throughout the state. The results of past DEA take back events are substantial, with thousands of pounds of unneeded, potentially dangerous medications being collected and safely destroyed.” “The Department of Law Enforcement is asking everyone to help keep our communities safe by disposing of unused or unwanted medications at any of the community take back locations,” said Department of Law Enforcement Director Mike Lambert. “By participating in the National Take Back Initiative, you’re helping to prevent prescription drug misuse and to protect our environment.
Let’s work together to keep medications out of the wrong hands — dispose responsibly and stay safe.” “This is a great opportunity to rid homes of unused and expired medications. Prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved by others to abuse. Together we can keep Hawaiʻi safe from prescription drugs entering our land and ocean,” says Valerie Mariano, branch chief, Community and Crime Prevention Branch, Department of the Attorney General.
Unused or expired medicine should be properly disposed of when no longer needed for the following reasons:
• 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.
• Medicines may lose their effectiveness after the expiration date. Medicine also should not be flushed down the toilet. Proper disposal reduces the risk of prescription drugs entering the human water supply or potentially harming aquatic life. In addition to this take back event, there are a number of year-round medication drop-off sites in Hawai‘i that can be located through the DEA drop-off locator tool at: https://www.dea.gov/takebackday#resources, or by visit www.hawaiiopioid.org.”
Original source can be found here.