U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) called on the President’s Commission on Combating Opioid Abuse to evaluate prescription drug take back programs and include the results in a final report.
Authorized under the Secured and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, prescription drug take back programs allow unused controlled substances to be returned to participating pharmacies to help reduce prescription drug diversion. The Drug Enforcement Agency finalized regulations for pharmacies to participate in voluntary drug take back programs in 2014.
Since that time, studies have shown that prescription take back programs can effectively decrease the availability of prescription drugs and help prevent overdose deaths.
Ernst and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) noted in a letter to Richard Baum, the acting director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, that an interim report prepared by the commission omitted prescription drug take back programs.
“Since 1999, the number of opioid prescriptions and opioid overdoses have quadrupled in the U.S.,” the letter said.
“Unfortunately, the interim report did not include any reference to prescription drug take back programs. We believe these programs may be an effective part of an all-of-the-above strategy to approaching the opioid epidemic,” the letter states.
“We write today to urge the commission to include an evaluation of prescription drug take back programs in the final report.”
In March 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) heeded a request by Ernst and Grassley to review whether federal regulations have been barriers to participation in drug take back programs. The GAO is expected to release a draft report soon, the letter notes.