S.O. collected 81.2 pounds of mostly prescription drugs on Oct. 26 in the Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at Walgreens; Call 271-DOPE hot line to turn in expired or no longer used drugs

Maj. Chad Clark and Sheriff James Pohlmann hold up one of the boxes containing medications turned in at the Prescription Drug Take-Back Day held Oct. 26 at the Walgreens store in Chalmette. Walgreens officials and law enforcement officers are also shown. On the right in front is Warren Rivera, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans field division for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, and to his right is his wife, Cheryl Rivera of the FBI. In the middle row, from left, is Chris Lafitte of Walgreens, Capt. Pat Childress and Cpl. Jessica Gernados of the Sheriff’s Office. In back, from left, are Walgreens officials Bob Lips, Dustin Mares, James Woringen Jr. and Gerard Robinette.

Carolyn Kimball of Meraux and Maj. Chad Clark empty a bag of medicatioms she brought into a collection box.

Stacy Clavin of Chalmette drops off olf medications at the Prescription Drug Take-Back Day sponsored by the Sheriff’s Office on Oct, 26 at the Walgreen’s store in Chalmette.

Several residents of St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans said they were glad to hear the Sheriff’s Office was collecting expired and no longer used drugs at the Walgreens store in Chalmette on Saturday, Oct. 26, because they hadn’t known how to turn in drugs they had.

“I’d been wanting to get rid of (old medication) but didn’t know how,’’ one woman said. “I didn’t want to dump it in the bathroom’’ she said, because she knew it could get into water and harm wildlife or fish. “Then I saw you were taking it here.’’

The take-back event, held in the parking lot of the Walgreens at Judge Perez and Paris Road, was very successful, Sheriff James Pohlmann said. It collected 81.2 pounds of various medicines and prescriptions turned in by residents.

“That is 81 pounds of drugs, a lot of it prescriptions, that could be easily abused but will never hit our streets and instead will be incinerated,’’ the sheriff said.

The sheriff’s Special Investigations Division, commanded by Maj. Chad Clark, collected the drugs at Walgreen’s.

The 4-hour event continued a successful partnership with the Walgreens store in Chalmette, where 66 pounds of drugs were received last April in the first drug take-back day held there.

Sheriff Pohlmann and Maj. Clark thanked Walgreens officials for hosting the event, including several on the scene including Chalmette store manager Dustin Mares, Gerard Robinette, loss prevention manager for Walgreen’s New Orleans West District; and Bob Lips, loss prevention manager for a number of the company’s stores.

The drug take-back day, sponsored nationally by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, has helped keep prescription drugs off the street, the sheriff said, which is important because studies show young people often first abuse such drugs after stealing them from medicine chests at the homes of relatives or parents of friends.

Warren Rivera, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans field division of the federal DEA, also dropped by the Chalmette event. Capt. Pat Childress of the Sheriff’s Office, who is assigned to a DEA task force, helped collect the drugs turned in as well as Cpl. Jessica Gernados and Maj. Clark.

The Sheriff’s Office has participated for several years in the national drug take-back day and locally it was the Sheriff’s Office that began its own take-back day in 2009 called “Operation Medicine Cabinet,’’ which encouraged residents to clean out their medicine chests of old prescription drugs and turn them in to the department.

St. Bernard residents are reminded they should call the sheriff’s 271-DOPE hot line (271-3673) any time to report suspected illegal drug activity. They can also call the same number to turn in prescription drugs between official drug take-back days. Which are done in April and October. A Narcotics Unit agent will call them back to make arrangements.