Sheriff’s Office collects record amount – nearly 150 pounds of prescription medications turned in by residents in drug take-back day; Can also call SBSO at 271-3673

A man drops off medications at the drug take-back day.

Shown with boxes of medications collected at the drug take-back day are, from left, Walgreens Store Manager Charles Mengel, employee Jimmy Woringen, Capt. Pat Childress,, Sheeriff James Pohlmann and Maj. Chad Clark.

Several people said Saturday, April 30, they were glad to see the Sheriff’s Office holding a drug take-back day at the Walgreens in Chalmette in conjunction with federal drug authorities because they didn’t know what else to do with medications they didn’t need any longer and didn’t want to fall into the wrong hands.

“I have been holding on to these a while cause I didn’t know what to do with them,’’one woman said, dropping several bags of prescription medications into a box as sheriff’s deputies spoke with her.

A record amount of prescription and other medications were turned in at the drug take-back event, just under 150 pounds in four hours, Sheriff James Pohlmann said, thanking everyone who brought in drugs they didn’t need or want any longer.

“This has been a great partnership with Walgreens which provides us space in their customer parking lot to collect the drugs,’’ the sheriff said “The amount collected from the public means those pills and other drugs never reach the streets to be abused, often by young people.’’ Drugs collected are incincerated.

Studies show young people usually start abusing pills by stealing them from medicine cabinets at the homes of relatives or from parents of friends, he said.

Sheriff Pohlmann also assured people they can call the Sheriff’s Office at any time to make arrangements to have prescription medications collected to be destroyed and don’t have to wait for an official drug take-back day.

Call the Narcotics Unit on its drug hotline number at (504) 271-DOPE, which is 271-3673, and an officer will either answer or call you back to make arrangements for a pick-up, he said. Call the same number to anonymously report illegal drug activity you believe may be taking place in the parish, the sheriff said. All calls will be acted upon.

Charles Mengel, store manager for the Walgreens at Paris Road and Judge Perez Drive, and his staff took part in the event with narcotics officers.

Nationally, millions of pounds of drugs have been collected in the past years of the take-back event.

Maj. Chad Clark, who commands the Sheriff Office Special Investigations Division which includes the Narcotics Unit, said the drug take-back day is aimed at “trying to reduce the risk of addiction and the 46,000 deaths across the country each year that come with prescription drug abuse.’’

St. Bernard Parish has been successful in lowering the number of drug overdose deaths in recent years due to several factors including the drug-take back days, education programs taught in schools by sheriff’s officers and vigorous enforcement of drug laws, the sheriff said.