[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 92 (Thursday, June 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6810-S6811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. Grassley, and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 1292. A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for 
take-back disposal of controlled substances in certain instances, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues, 
Senator Klobuchar, and Senator Feinstein, in introducing the Secure and 
Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2009. The abuse of prescription 
narcotics such as pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and 
sedatives is currently the fastest growing drug abuse trend in the 
country. According to the most recent National Survey of Drug Use and 
Health, NSDUH, nearly 7 million people have admitted to using 
controlled substances without a doctor's prescription. People between 
the ages of 12 and 25 are the most common group to abuse these drugs. 
However, more and more people are dying because of this abuse. The 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the 
unintentional deaths involving prescription narcotics increased 117 
percent from the years 2001 to 2005. These are statistics that can no 
longer be ignored.
  Millions of Americans are prescribed controlled substances every year 
to treat a variety of symptoms due to injury, depression, insomnia, and 
other conditions. Many legitimate users of these drugs often do not 
finish their prescriptions. As a result, these drugs remain in the 
family medicine cabinet for months or years because people forget about 
them or do not know how to properly dispose of them. However, these 
drugs, when not properly used or administered, are just as addictive 
and deadly as street drugs like methamphetamine or cocaine.
  According to the NSDUH, more than half of the people who abuse 
prescription narcotics reported that they obtained controlled 
substances from a friend or relative or from the family medicine 
cabinet. As a result, most community anti-drug coalitions, public 
health officials, and law enforcement officials have been encouraging 
people within their communities to dispose of old or unused medications 
in an effort to combat this growing trend.
  Despite these ongoing efforts across the country to eliminate a 
primary source of prescription narcotics from within their communities, 
many people are finding the Controlled Substances

[[Page S6811]]

Act, CSA, is making these efforts difficult. When the CSA was passed in 
the early 1970's many people did not anticipate the large amount of 
prescription narcotics that would be used today or the high potential 
for these drugs to be diverted and abused. Under the CSA, most people 
who legally possess controlled substances cannot legally transfer them 
to anyone for any purpose, including for the purpose of disposal. 
Because the legal method for disposal is unclear, communities 
interested in providing citizens with an easy process of disposal 
hesitate to do so or risk violation of the CSA to offer the service. We 
need to change the CSA so that unused controlled substances do not get 
diverted in to the stream of illicit drug use and to prevent potential 
environmental harms, as many people dispose of controlled substances by 
flushing them down the toilet or dumping them in unlined landfills.
  Accordingly, Senator Klobuchar, Senator Feinstein and I are 
introducing the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2009 to fix 
the CSA so these efforts to eradicate abuse are not impeded by federal 
law. This legislation will amend the CSA to allow a user to transfer 
unused controlled substances to a DEA sanctioned entity for disposal 
without mandating any specific method of disposal upon communities. 
This will enable communities to develop methods of disposal best suited 
for their areas while minimizing the pollution of water supplies or 
increasing the chances that these drugs will be diverted for abuse. 
Since most long-term care facilities store large amounts of 
prescription narcotics for their tenants but are unable to legally 
dispose of them the bill also enables these facilities to dispose of 
old medication on behalf of their past and current patients.
  This legislation will not cost the government any money to implement 
and would not place any financial burden on states or industries. It 
simp ives local communities the option to safely dispose of unused 
controlled substances. I am pleased that the Department of Justice has 
endorsed this legislation. They and many others out there know how 
serious the abuse of prescription narcotics has become in this country. 
Now is the time to act, and I urge my colleagues to join us in 
supporting the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2009.
                                 ______