[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3397 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.3397
One Hundred Eleventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten
An Act
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for take-back disposal
of controlled substances in certain instances, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal
Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The nonmedical use of prescription drugs is a growing
problem in the United States, particularly among teenagers.
(2) According to the Department of Justice's 2009 National
Prescription Drug Threat Assessment--
(A) the number of deaths and treatment admissions for
controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) has increased
significantly in recent years;
(B) unintentional overdose deaths involving prescription
opioids, for example, increased 114 percent from 2001 to 2005,
and the number of treatment admissions for prescription opioids
increased 74 percent from 2002 to 2006; and
(C) violent crime and property crime associated with abuse
and diversion of CPDs has increased in all regions of the
United States over the past 5 years.
(3) According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy's
2008 Report ``Prescription for Danger'', prescription drug abuse is
especially on the rise for teens--
(A) one-third of all new abusers of prescription drugs in
2006 were 12- to 17-year-olds;
(B) teens abuse prescription drugs more than any illicit
drug except marijuana--more than cocaine, heroin, and
methamphetamine combined; and
(C) responsible adults are in a unique position to reduce
teen access to prescription drugs because the drugs often are
found in the home.
(4)(A) Many State and local law enforcement agencies have
established drug disposal programs (often called ``take-back''
programs) to facilitate the collection and destruction of unused,
unwanted, or expired medications. These programs help get outdated
or unused medications off household shelves and out of the reach of
children and teenagers.
(B) However, take-back programs often cannot dispose of the
most dangerous pharmaceutical drugs--controlled substance
medications--because Federal law does not permit take-back programs
to accept controlled substances unless they get specific permission
from the Drug Enforcement Administration and arrange for full-time
law enforcement officers to receive the controlled substances
directly from the member of the public who seeks to dispose of
them.
(C) Individuals seeking to reduce the amount of unwanted
controlled substances in their household consequently have few
disposal options beyond discarding or flushing the substances,
which may not be appropriate means of disposing of the substances.
Drug take-back programs are also a convenient and effective means
for individuals in various communities to reduce the introduction
of some potentially harmful substances into the environment,
particularly into water.
(D) Long-term care facilities face a distinct set of obstacles
to the safe disposal of controlled substances due to the increased
volume of controlled substances they handle.
(5) This Act gives the Attorney General authority to promulgate
new regulations, within the framework of the Controlled Substances
Act, that will allow patients to deliver unused pharmaceutical
controlled substances to appropriate entities for disposal in a
safe and effective manner consistent with effective controls
against diversion.
(6) The goal of this Act is to encourage the Attorney General
to set controlled substance diversion prevention parameters that
will allow public and private entities to develop a variety of
methods of collection and disposal of controlled substances,
including some pharmaceuticals, in a secure, convenient, and
responsible manner. This will also serve to reduce instances of
diversion and introduction of some potentially harmful substances
into the environment.
SEC. 3. DELIVERY OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES BY ULTIMATE USERS FOR
DISPOSAL.
(a) Regulatory Authority.--Section 302 of the Controlled Substances
Act (21 U.S.C. 822) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g)(1) An ultimate user who has lawfully obtained a controlled
substance in accordance with this title may, without being registered,
deliver the controlled substance to another person for the purpose of
disposal of the controlled substance if--
``(A) the person receiving the controlled substance is
authorized under this title to engage in such activity; and
``(B) the disposal takes place in accordance with regulations
issued by the Attorney General to prevent diversion of controlled
substances.
``(2) In developing regulations under this subsection, the Attorney
General shall take into consideration the public health and safety, as
well as the ease and cost of program implementation and participation
by various communities. Such regulations may not require any entity to
establish or operate a delivery or disposal program.
``(3) The Attorney General may, by regulation, authorize long-term
care facilities, as defined by the Attorney General by regulation, to
dispose of controlled substances on behalf of ultimate users who
reside, or have resided, at such long-term care facilities in a manner
that the Attorney General determines will provide effective controls
against diversion and be consistent with the public health and safety.
``(4) If a person dies while lawfully in possession of a controlled
substance for personal use, any person lawfully entitled to dispose of
the decedent's property may deliver the controlled substance to another
person for the purpose of disposal under the same conditions as
provided in paragraph (1) for an ultimate user.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 308(b) of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 828(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and
inserting ``; or''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) the delivery of such a substance for the purpose of
disposal by an ultimate user, long-term care facility, or other
person acting in accordance with section 302(g).''.
SEC. 4. DIRECTIVE TO THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION.
Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United
States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and,
if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy
statements to ensure that the guidelines and policy statements provide
an appropriate penalty increase of up to 2 offense levels above the
sentence otherwise applicable in Part D of the Guidelines Manual if a
person is convicted of a drug offense resulting from the authorization
of that person to receive scheduled substances from an ultimate user or
long-term care facility as set forth in the amendments made by section
3.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.