Don’t let unused prescription medicine fall into the wrong hands: Turn them in to the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office this Saturday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Chalmette Walgreens store

St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann is urging people not to let their unused prescription medications such as pain-killer pills fall into the wrong hands.

Instead, turn them in to the Sheriff’s Office this Saturday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Chalmette Walgreens store parking lot on National Drug Take-Back Day.

This is the fifth year for the highly successful program aimed at ridding unused or no longer needed drugs from medicine chests so no one else finds them and uses or sells them on the streets

“Don’t let young people get hooked on pills they find while visiting you,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. Also, “don’t throw medication in the garbage where it can be found or down a toilet where it can end up affecting wildlife or seafood in marshes.’’

Sheriff Pohlmann added, “Instead, bring any medication you don’t use to us so it can be destroyed properly.’’

The Drug Take-Back Day is held in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and State Police efforts.

Surrendering old drugs is important, the sheriff said, because studies show young people often abuse prescription drugs after stealing them from medicine chests at the homes of relatives or at parents of friends.

Some 110 Americans die each day from prescription drug overdoses, a disturbing number that must be brought down through such efforts as a Drug Take-Back Day.

In St. Bernard, hundreds of pounds of drugs have been surrendered in recent years during such efforts.

St. Bernard residents are reminded they can also call the sheriff’s 271-DOPE hot line (271-3673) at any time they want to turn in prescription drugs between official drug take-back days. A Narcotics Unit agent will call them back to make arrangements to receive them.