[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3397 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3397
To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for take-back
disposal of controlled substances in certain instances, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 24, 2010
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Brown of
Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
(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 in a secure and responsible manner.
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) 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 in a
manner that the Attorney General determines will provide effective
controls against diversion and be consistent with the public health and
safety.''.
(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 or long-term care facility acting
in accordance with section 302(g) of this title.''.
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