[StBernard] St. Bernard Sheriff's Office participates in Drug Take-Back Day in Chamette

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Sheriff's Office participates in Drug Take-Back Day in Chamette
Print NOLA Community Submission By NOLA Community Submission 
on September 30, 2014 at 8:24 AM, updated September 30, 2014 at 8:33 AM

Sharie Waguespack of Chalmette was at the Chalmette Walgreens store on Sept.
27 and saw that the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office was holding a drug
take-back event to collect expired prescription medications and other no
longer needed drugs to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.

Waguespack went home and returned with a bag to surrender items she no
longer needed.

"I know it's a good cause,'' she said of the take-back effort. "And I know
you all say don't throw them in the garbage because someone could find them
or down a toilet because that could hurt wildlife or seafood'' when the
water is returned to nature.

Many residents of St. Bernard and some from New Orleans took the time to go
to Walgreens to drop off no longer needed medications.

The Sheriff's Office collected 118 pounds of drugs that will be burned.

"That's 118 pounds of drugs - a lot of drugs - that won't hit the streets of
this parish and possibly lead to a young person getting hooked on
prescription medications,'' St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

This was the sixth year the Sheriff's Office has held the highly successful
program aimed at ridding unused or no longer needed drugs from medicine
chests so no one finds them and uses or sells them.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration held a national drug take-back day
along with State Police on Sept. 27 and the Sheriff's Office participated.
St. Bernard authorities were holding the program before it went national.

Surrendering old drugs is important, Pohlmann 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, Pohlmann said.

Pohlmann thanked Walgreens officials for hosting the event, saying the
location at Paris Road at Judge Perez Drive provides an easily accessible
spot for the public to turn in medications. The four-hour event continued a
successful partnership with the Walgreens store in Chalmette, which has
hosted the take-back event three times with the Sheriff's Office.

Several Walgreens officials also participated, including Chalmette store
manager Charles Mengel, 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 St. Bernard Parish Fire Department also participated in the event, with
two trucks and a number of firefighters at the scene.

Capt. Pat Childress, a sheriff's deputy assigned to a U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration task force, and Cpl. Jessica Gernados of the Special
Investigations Division were at Walgreens to collect the medications turned
in by the public.

Warren Rivera, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans field
division of the federal DEA, also visited the event.

St. Bernard residents are reminded they can call the sheriff's 271-DOPE hot
line (271-3673) any time to turn in prescription drugs between official drug
take-back days, which are done in the Spring and Fall. A Narcotics Unit
agent will call them back to make arrangements to receive them.

Also, call the DOPE hotline, which is anonymous, to report suspected illegal
drug activity in St. Bernard Parish. All calls will be acted upon.

The information in this article and pictures were provided by the St.
Bernard Sheriff's Office Director of Public Information Steve Cannizaro.