    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 124, 111th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 111-273
    111th Congress

    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    get outdated or unused medications off household shelves and out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.

    [[Page 2859]]

    (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

    [[Page 2860]]

    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.

    Approved October 12, 2010.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 3397:
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    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010):
    Aug. 3, considered and passed Senate.
    Sept. 29, considered and passed House, amended. Senate
    concurred in House amendment.