Drop boxes for medications to be open Monday
Unused, expired drugs can be dumped at police stations
WAILUKU — Starting Monday, residents will be able to turn in unused and expired prescription medications at most police stations on Maui and on Lanai.
Green drop boxes are being installed in the Wailuku, Kihei and Lahaina police stations. At the Lanai Police Station, a drop box is already in place.
A goal of the Hawaii Medication Drop Box Program is to prevent prescription medication, particularly addictive opiates, from being abused or improperly disposed of.
“We’re focusing on trying to avoid the same problems that the East Coast and much of the Mainland are facing with the opioid crisis,” said acting Lt. John Sang, Maui Police Department spokesman. “A part of what contributes to that problem is the uncontrolled access people have to prescription medications from just medicine cabinets.”
The drop boxes also will offer a solution for people facing the dilemma of how to dispose of their unwanted medication.
“They don’t want to dump it down the toilet. Then you create an environmental problem,” Sang said. “You don’t want to throw it in the trash because it’s the same thing.”
People have had opportunities to turn in medication during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s twice-a-year take-back initiative days at the Wailuku Police Station.
At the last take-back day in April, the medication collected filled 17 boxes weighing 224 pounds, said Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu. “So there is a need for it,” he said.
With the take-back days occurring in Central Maui, those in other communities and on Molokai and Lanai may not have been able to take advantage of the program, Sang said.
“By taking the boxes into the communities, we’re hoping to expand that reach and bring
in those prescription medications that can be pretty harmful,” he said.
“It will afford our community the ability to turn in unwanted medicine,” Faaumu said. “It’s a statewide effort to make sure it’s properly disposed of.”
The locked steel drop boxes are secured in the front lobbies of the Kihei, Lahaina and Lanai police stations and in the entrance to the Receiving Desk at the Wailuku Police Station.
Medication can be dropped off 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Wailuku, Kihei and Lahaina.
On Lanai, the drop box will be available during regular business hours from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Police are working on logistics for the Hana and Molokai police stations, which also will have drop boxes, Sang said.
He said people can drop off medication anonymously and are asked to remove or black out any identifying information on pill bottles or medicine containers. No sharp objects, such
as needles or scalpels that might be used with some medications, will be accepted. Liquid medication must be in a container that’s sealed tightly. Residents are asked to place all medication in a clear Ziploctype bag.
Those dropping off medication must make contact with a public safety aide or police officer at the police station so medication can be checked to make sure pills and liquids are separated and there are no prohibited items or identifying labels.
“We want to try and keep
this as anonymous as possible,” Sang said.
No over-the-counter medication will be accepted. No commercial use of the drop boxes is allowed.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is funding the program, including the $700 cost for each drop box and the cost of shipping the medication collected in Maui County to Oahu for disposal.
“We’re going to encourage everyone, once the boxes are available, to come to the station and start taking advantage of it,” Sang said. “Let’s get those
drugs off the streets, get those drugs out of your medicine cabinets if you don’t use them.
“It takes all of us to try and keep the Maui community safe.”
The drop box program is a partnership involving the DEA, county police departments, state Narcotics Enforcement Division, state Department of Health, lieutenant governor’s office, state attorney general’s office and state Public Safety Division.