LIHUE — Yes, there are a lot of events ranging from the Kapaa High School homecoming to a number of Halloween-themed festivities taking place throughout the island on Saturday.
Amid the flurry of festivities, the county reminds people of the Drug Take Back Day that will take place at the Kauai Police Department (KPD) headquarters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Community members are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to safely and conveniently dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications by using the anonymous drive-thru drop-off service that will be set up on the east side of the building that also houses the Kauai Emergency Management Agency and Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
This service is completely free and anonymous — no questions will be asked.
Various forms of medications will be accepted, including tablets, capsules, liquids, and patches, whether prescription or nonprescription. New or used needles or syringes will not be accepted.
The Saturday Drug Take Back Day is part of a national campaign where the Kauai Police Department, in collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Hawaii Department of the Attorney General and Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) Narcotics Enforcement Division.
“The Department of Law Enforcement wants to encourage the public to turn in unused or unwanted medications at any of the community take back locations,” said DLE Deputy Director Jared Redula.
“By safely disposing of unused or unwanted medications through the National Take Back initiative, we never have to worry about those medications being misused.”
The National Drug Take Back Day takes place twice a year. Unwanted or unneeded medicines should not be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet because having unused or expired medicine in the home increases the risk of accidental poisoning, especially homes where children or the elderly live. Children may mistake medicine for candy.
“This is a great opportunity to rid unused and expired medications from your home,” said Valerie Mariano, branch chief of the Community and Crime Prevention Branch of the Department of the Attorney General.
“Prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved by others to abuse. Let us work together to keep Hawaii safe from prescription drugs entering our land and ocean.”
Improperly discarded medications can harm the environment and potentially enter the water supply, endangering aquatic life.
Now in its 15th year, the Drug Take Back initiative has successfully collected more than 53,000 pounds of prescription medications across Hawaii. During the event held in April, more than 3,200 pounds were turned in at collection sites across the state.
For people unable to participate in Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, KPD headquarters offers a permanently installed medication drop box for anonymous disposal of unused or expired medications at any time.
