NORWICH — The City of Norwich Police Department will be hosting their twice annual DEA sponsored Drug Take Back day on Saturday, October 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Residents wishing to dispose of old or unwanted prescription medication may bring them to the rear of the Norwich Police Department, located at 18 East Main Street.

“A lot of people have expired prescription medication that they want to get rid of, and you shouldn't put them in landfills and stuff like that. So, they can turn them in here,” said Norwich Police Chief Rodney Marsh. “There’s no charge, no questions asked. We don't look through them, we drop them right in a box, and at the end of the event the boxes get sealed up and get turned over to the DEA and they destroy them.”

While Drug Take Back days only occur twice a year, Marsh said the department will never refuse medications and substances turned in throughout the year.

“People do, throughout the year, bring in- they’ll have a loved one who passed away, and they had prescription meds and they don’t know what to do with them. And we’re not gonna turn them away,” he said.

Residents turning in drugs can drive to the rear entrance of the Norwich Police Department, where Marsh said an officer will be waiting to collect them.

“They just come in and pull out back behind the PD and the garage doors will be open, an officer will be there. And we don’t ask any questions, it literally takes seconds. They can either get out of their vehicles and drop it in the box, or a lot of times they’ll just hand it to the officer right at their window and drive away,” Marsh explained.

He also requested that residents do not bring sharps or needles to be turned in.

“We’re not supposed to take sharps,” said Marsh. “If people do turn them in, we do have a sharps container that we will take them in. We really don’t like to but, again, we’re not going to turn anybody away if they had those to turn in, too.”

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Department will also be participating in the Drug Take Back day on October 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Coventry Sheriff’s Substation within the Coventry Town Hall building.

A coalition through the Chenango Health Network (CHN), called the Chenango Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (CSAPC), will also be attending the event at the Norwich Police Department.

CHN Drug Free Community Coordinator Kyli Anderson said that within CSAPC is a “teen-led coalition called The Pulse, who will be attending this event as they work to implement Red Ribbon Week,” a week of activities geared toward substance abuse prevention in Chenango County youth.

"Alongside that we will have our member who runs the RCORP program present. CHN's RCORP program is a grant funded program through HRSA organized by REACH," added Anderson. "RCORP provides non-judgmental, person-centered case management with a Community Health Worker to families, youth, and adults at risk of, or currently living with, alcohol and substance use disorder in Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Counties."