Saturday will mark the tenth year of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Take-Back Initiative in Hawaii.

Anyone with expired or unused prescription medications is encouraged to bring them to the Maui Police Department parking lot at 55 Mahalani St. between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 27.

Tablets, capsules, liquids and other forms of medication will be accepted. New or used syringes will not be accepted.

This service is free and anonymous – no questions asked.

The Department of the Attorney General and Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division, in partnership with DEA and other law enforcement agencies, coordinate these prescription drug take-back events to help promote safety.

Unused or expired medicine should be disposed of properly when it is no longer needed for the illness for which it was prescribed. Medicines may lose their effectiveness after the expiration date, and 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 type, and children may mistake medicine for candy. ?

Finally, expired medicine should not be thrown in the trash or flushed down the toilet. Proper disposal helps reduce the risk of prescription drugs entering the human water supply or potentially harming aquatic life.

“Properly disposing of unused and expired prescription medication is important for our natural environment and for the health and safety of our communities,” said Attorney General Clare E. Connors. “Please bring your medication to a designated site on April 27th or anytime to one of the permanent collection sites maintained by our dedicated law enforcement partners.”

“Please help DEA and our partners take unwanted or expired medication out of your medicine cabinets and into the incinerator,” said John Callery, assistant special agent in charge at the U.S. DEA’s Honolulu District Office. “Please help us keep our Hawaiian communities healthy and safe for all.”

If you can’t make it on Saturday, there are year-round take back boxes in the lobby at MPD stations at Wailuku, Lahaina, Hana and Kihei. For more information, visit www.dea.gov or www.ag.hawaii.gov. ?