[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SAFE DRUG DISPOSAL ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 25, 2009

  Mr. INSLEE. Madam Speaker, I am proud to announce the introduction of 
the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2009. This important bill allows states 
the opportunity to continue their outstanding work to clean up our 
streets and waterways from unused pharmaceuticals, including both 
controlled and uncontrolled substances. It is my hope that Congress 
will give as much attention to this bill as it deserves.
  In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act was enacted into law under 
title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 
1970. This valuable act was designed to protect the American public 
from recreational use of controlled substances by creating a closed 
loop system, which restricts the movement of controlled substances to 
individuals designated to handle such substances. Unfortunately, as we 
learn more about the high risks of controlled substances on our streets 
and in our water ways, the Controlled Substances Act has inadvertently 
established a barrier between safe and unsafe disposal methods of 
unused or unwanted controlled substances. Without amending this law, 
controlled substance abuse on our streets and prescription drug 
pollution of our water ways will continue to rise.
  In 2007, a study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services 
found that, while cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults 
dropped significantly, prescription drug abuse increased. Among young 
adults ages 18 to 25, the level of current nonmedical use of 
prescription pain relievers has risen 12 percent. Further, results of a 
separate study of seventh through twelfth grade students released on 
April 21, 2005 by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America indicated 
that teenagers are more likely to have abused a prescription pain 
medication to get high than they are to have experimented with a 
variety of illicit drugs including ecstasy, cocaine, crack, and LSD. 
During this study, one in five teenagers reported using the controlled 
substance Vicodin without a prescription; approximately ten percent 
reported using the controlled substance OxyContin without a 
prescription; and ten percent reported having used prescription 
stimulants, Ritalin and/or Adderall, without a prescription.
  One reason why pharmaceutical drug diversion has increased over the 
last few years is the availability of unused prescription drugs. Among 
teenagers surveyed in the April 21, 2005 study administered by the 
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, fifty percent indicated that 
prescription drugs are widely available, one-third indicated that 
prescription drugs were easy to purchase over the Internet, and sixty-
three percent said they could easily obtain prescription opiates and 
painkillers from their own home. Family medicine cabinets all across 
America have turned into the drug dealers of today.
  It is not irresponsibility that has driven the abundance of 
pharmaceuticals in households across America. Americans have their 
hands tied when they look to dispose of unused pharmaceuticals. The 
choice to either throw them in the trash or flush them down the toilet 
is environmentally unacceptable. Recent reports indicate traces of 
common medicines such as acetaminophen, hormones, blood pressure 
medications, codeine and antibiotics in very low concentrations in 80 
percent of samples taken from 139 streams across 30 states. Researchers 
are continuously finding diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical 
residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild and 
impair the workings of human cells in laboratories.
  Many Americans understand the need for appropriate disposal methods 
in their communities. Just last year, Local Hazardous Waste Management 
Program in King County, WA collected over 1,100 lbs of uncontrolled 
substances per month during their Safe Medicine Return Pilot program. 
It is programs like these that will provide a safe means of disposal to 
take prescription drugs off the streets and out of our water.
  I am pleased to introduce the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2009. It is 
my hope that Congress will consider this important piece legislation to 
keep our communities and waterways free from waste pharmaceuticals.

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