OLYMPIA –Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds) is continuing his fight against the opioid epidemic with proposed legislation (HB 1047) heard yesterday in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee. The hearing is available on TVW. The bill, also known as the Drug Take-Back Act, will require drug manufacturers that sell drugs in Washington state to establish and implement safe drug disposal programs.
Prescription drugs are among the most commonly abused drugs in the United States. According to the Washington State Department of Health, over 700 opioid overdose deaths occurred in 2015, with over 400 involving prescription drugs. A majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the medicine cabinet.
Prescription drugs also contribute to preventable poisonings and suicides. Each year, 19 percent of suicide deaths are by poisoning. When young people attempt suicide using prescription drugs, they often find the medications in their homes. Prescription drug accumulation in homes also increases the possibility of accidental poisonings, often due to expired medication or ingestion by a child.
“In addition to educating households about the signs of suicide and the need to properly dispose of and safely store medications, it is critical that barriers to disposing extra medications in communities across Washington not exist,” stated Jennifer Stuber in her testimony. Stuber is an Associate Professor of the University of Washington and the Director of Forefront, a suicide prevention organization.
In order to reduce the risk of drug abuse, overdoses, poisonings and suicides, the Drug Take-Back Act will provide a secure system of collection and disposal for unused, expired and leftover medications. Although it may seem convenient, throwing away or flushing prescription medication poses potential safety and health hazards. Therefore, to encourage communities to utilize the Drug Take-Back programs, each program must operate on a year-round basis, include reasonably convenient drop-off sites with equitable access, and dispose of the drugs collected at a hazardous waste disposal facility.
A majority of drug take-back programs already operating in the state are run by local law enforcement agencies. According to Commander Pat Slack of the Snohomish Regional Drug & Gang Task Force, the Snohomish County program has collected about 45,000 lbs. of prescriptions since its inception in 2010.
Despite the success of these programs, both Commander Slack and Jeff Myers, Chief of the Hoquiam Police Department testified that the programs are a strain on law enforcement resources.
“The concern is this is not really a law enforcement function … I would be more than happy to continue our drop box, if somebody would just come and pick it up and dispose of it from there forward. Currently we are doing it out of our budget,” said Chief Myers.
Ten stakeholders testified or provided written testimony. Stakeholders in support of the bill included law enforcement, health care providers, suicide prevention experts and mental health counselors. Testimony in opposition of the bill was given by representatives of pharmaceutical companies.
“It was heartening to see so many frontline professionals supporting this bill,” said Peterson. “All of these people believe this policy is important to keep our families and communities safe.”