Residents properly disposed of 30 pounds of unwanted or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications on Saturday, Oct. 26 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.
In addition, over the past 10 months, the Sheriff’s Office has collected more than 200 pounds of unwanted medication from a drop box located at the Paris Road substation at 4700 Paris Road in Chalmette. The drop box is open year-round for residents to drop off unwanted medications.
The purpose of the Drug Take Back initiative is to ensure medications don’t fall into the hands of youngsters who might misuse them or thieves who could sell them on our streets, the Sheriff 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.
