(ELMIRA, NY) WENY – The Chemung County Sheriff’s Office worked with Elmira Fire Departments Saturday morning in honoring National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  

The event serves as an opportunity for the public to prevent drug abuse by removing them from homes. From 10 AM to 2 PM, Elmira’s Fire Department’s served as drop-off sites for prescription drugs. Today’s event was sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Chemung County Sheriff William Schrom was in charge of organizing today’s event locally. He expressed the purpose of helping his local extension of a national issue. 

“The event is designed so that these medications are disposed of safely and properly,” Schrom said. “We want to get these medications out of the homes, out of the hands of young children that can come into contact with them.” 

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an event that occurs biannually. Schrom continued with the positive outcomes generated from the event over the years. 

“Probably since 2010, we've collected over 12,000 pounds of medication,” Schrom said. “Generally, we average several hundred pounds at each event.” 

Schrom took note of how this year’s event saw fewer drug drop-offs. He credited his community for already being on top of combating the issue. 

“I'm attributing that to the fact that we have a lot of drop-off sites throughout the county that people can take them to throughout the year,” Schrom said. “I'm assuming that's probably what's happening is people are getting rid of them throughout the year and not just waiting for these events to come up.” 

The DEA was established in 1973 as the federal organization in charge of enforcing the controlled substances laws of the United States.