Got expired and unused drugs in your medicine cabinet?
The seventh National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will collect old medications for disposal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Take Back sites on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island.
Sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the initiative has so far collected more than 2.8 million pounds of unused medications.
On April 27 — the most recent national Take Back day — a total of 742,497 pounds, or 371 tons, of prescription medication were turned in at 5,829 Take Back sites in 50 states and the U.S. territories. About 1,330 pounds of prescription medications were collected throughout Hawaii.
Since September 2010, Hawaii, together with Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, has collected nearly 11,000 pounds, or 5.5 tons, of expired and unused prescription medications.
The following are a couple of reasons to take old medications to a Take Back site:
» Unused or expired medicine in the home increases the risk of drug abuse and accidental poisoning.
» Proper disposal of the medications will reduce the chance of the drugs entering the water supply or harming aquatic life.
Unused, expired prescription medications may be dropped off anonymously with no charge and no questions asked. Only solid dosage forms such as tablets and capsules will be accepted. No needles, syringes, intravenous solutions or illegal substances will be accepted.
The list of the Take Back sites set for Saturday in Hawaii:
» Hawaii island: Army Aviation Support Facility, 1095 Kekuanaoa St., Hilo; and Kona Police Station, 74-611 Hale Makai Place, Kailua-Kona, parking lot
» Kauai: Police Department headquarters, 3990 Kaana St., Lihue
» Maui: Maui Police Department, 55 Mahalani St., Wailuku, parking lot
» Oahu: Kahala Mall; state Capitol, on South Beretania Street; Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center; Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Exchange (authorized personnel with base access only); Pearl Harbor Navy Exchange, 4725 Bougainville Drive; Town Center of Mililani, north end of the mall; and Kapolei Police Station, 1100 Kamokila Blvd., Kapolei, parking lot
