St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office holds Drug Take-Back Day

Lt. Chip Englande checks to see if anyone has dropped off unwanted or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications at the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office Field Operations Bureau at 4700 Paris Road in Chalmette. Residents can drop off unwanted medications at this substation year-round as part of an initiative by state Attorney General Jeff Landry, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

Marta Vincent, left, hands over some unwanted prescription medication to Lt. Chip Englande Saturday, April 28 during the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office Drug Take Back Day.

Residents properly disposed of nearly 40 pounds of unwanted or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications on Saturday, April 28 as the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office participated in the annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Narcotics officers with the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office accepted the unwanted medications over a four-hour period at the Special Investigations Division substation, 7001 W. Judge Perez Drive in Arabi.

“We are glad so many residents took advantage of this opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets and get rid of unused drugs so they don’t fall into the hands of youngsters who might misuse them or thieves who could sell them on our streets,” Sheriff Pohlmann said.

The Drug Take Back initiative, part of a national effort spearheaded by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, has seen more than 4.8 million pounds of prescription drugs collected nationwide since its inception in 2010.

Sheriff Pohlmann said residents who could not make the recent Drug Take Back Day can properly dispose of unwanted medications year-round at the Sheriff’s Office substation located at 4700 Paris Road in Chalmette.

“We have been participating in the Drug Take-Back for a number of years by inviting the public to properly dispose of unwanted medications on specific days throughout the year,” Sheriff Pohlmann said, “And now, having a drop box at one of our substations year-round will create better, more convenient opportunities for people to do so.”

The drop box located at the Paris Road substation was installed as part of an initiative by state Attorney General Jeff Landry, Blue Cross Blue Shield and the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

The goal of the initiative is to have a location in every Louisiana parish where residents can drop off unwanted medications at any time in an effort to fight the opioid epidemic.