[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5365-5366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE BACK DAY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, this Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 
2 p.m., the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, is coordinating the 
latest National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Take back days are 
nationwide efforts to remove old or unused prescription drugs from 
medicine cabinets so they don't fall into the wrong hands and lead to 
substance abuse and addiction. I am proud to have helped encourage take 
back days a few years ago by working with Senators Klobuchar, Cornyn, 
and Brown to pass the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act.
  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health 
care providers wrote almost a quarter of a billion opioid prescriptions 
in 2013, enough for every American adult to have his or her own bottle 
of pills. The accumulation of these medicines in our homes creates a 
public health risk, since they can be accidentally ingested, abused, 
stolen, and passed on to others. According to the 2014 National Survey 
on Drug Use and Health, 6.5 million Americans abused controlled 
prescription drugs that year. According to that same study, a majority 
of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, 
including from the home medicine cabinet.
  Obviously, the consequences of this prescription drug abuse can be 
dangerous and even deadly. Prescription drug abuse may lead to abuse of 
other drugs like heroin, which is cheaper and more readily available. 
In 2014, more than 47,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United 
States, an alltime high. Incredibly, more than half of those deaths 
involved prescription opioids or heroin.
  So raising public awareness about the dangers of abuse and reducing 
the availability of unused medications are important components of 
preventing prescription drug abuse and addiction. The take back day 
initiative is a great way to make progress on both fronts.
  Beginning in September 2010, the DEA has coordinated these days twice 
a year, with fantastic results. At the most recent event last 
September, Americans turned in 350 tons of prescription drugs at more 
than 5,000 sites operated by the DEA and more than 3,800 of its State 
and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 10 previous take 
back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 2,750 tons of 
pills. It is not an exaggeration to say that take back events have 
probably saved lives.
  Now, for some unexplained reason, the Obama administration decided to 
discontinue this program a few years ago, but in May 2015, I was a 
member of a bipartisan group of Senators that wrote to the Department 
of Justice, urging that it be reinstated. A few months later, DEA 
Acting Administrator Rosenberg did so. I am grateful for that decision.
  In fact, I support expanding take back opportunities, by creating 
additional permanent, convenient disposal sites for the public. 
Expansion of the program along these lines is explicitly authorized in 
the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, a bill I guided through 
the Judiciary Committee in February. It subsequently passed the Senate 
by a vote of 94-1.

[[Page 5366]]

  So I urge everyone in Iowa and across the country to check your homes 
for unneeded or expired medicines. If you find any, please take part in 
this year's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday. 
Participating locations typically include neighborhood pharmacies and 
local fire and police departments. You can locate a specific collection 
site near you on the DEA's website. This is one small way we can each 
do our part to reduce the risk of drug abuse and addiction for our 
families and communities.

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