Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate Disposal and Packaging Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, in 2018, more than 2 million Americans will suffer from addiction to prescription opioids.

As I have traveled across my district, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects these drugs can have on families, friends, and loved ones. There is no barrier for these drugs. They strike at every level of society and across every geographic region. It touches all of us.

In North Carolina, we have 4 of the top 25 worst cities for opioid abuse in the country. This truly is the crisis next door, and I am proud of the collective effort the House of Representatives has undertaken in a bipartisan way to address this epidemic.

One important piece of this effort is a bipartisan bill I worked on with my colleague G.K. Butterfield, the SOUND Disposal and Packaging Act, which will direct the FDA to work with manufacturers to help reduce diversion, overprescribing, and abuse of schedule II or III opioids.

I focused on packaging and disposal because it seemed everyone I talked to had sort of a lightbulb go off. So many of us have unused opioids in our medicine cabinets from surgeries, accidents, or hospital visits.

With 70 percent of heroin addictions beginning in the medicine cabinet, attacking this oversupply with packaging on the front end and disposal on the back end was a logical place to start. We need to reduce the supply of opioids that find their way out of the medicine cabinet, and this legislation is the first step.

I appreciate the leadership of my friend, G.K. Butterfield, for working with me in a bipartisan manner in authoring this bill. I want to thank the leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Health Subcommittee, Chairman Walden and Chairman Burgess, and Ranking Members Pallone and Green for their partnership and help to ensure this could be a reality today.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from DisposeRx in support of H.R. 5687, the SOUND Disposal and Packaging Act. DisposeRx, June 18, 2018. Hon. Richard Hudson, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Hudson: As our country continues to combat the opioid epidemic, we commend the United States House of Representative for voting on your legislation, H.R. 5687, the ``the ``SOUND'` Disposal and Packaging Act.'' Opioid overdoses kill tens of thousands of people each year, and this landmark legislation is pivotal to saving lives and overcoming the opioid crisis.

Our mission at DisposeRx is to empower the consumer to safely and permanently dispose of unused medications, including opioids and drugs with abuse liabilities, with at- home solutions that render drugs non-retrievable. Research has shown that take-back and kiosk strategies are inconvenient and encourage diversion, whereas at-home solutions that empower consumers to destroy their drugs in an environmentally friendly manner are a better solution to preventing opioid abuse, overdoses and deaths that begin in the medicine cabinet.

For years, the federal government has recommended substandard methods of disposal for controlled substances, such as placing them in coffee grounds or kitty litter, and even flushing them down the toilet for eventual transport to our nation's waterways. With the passage of H.R. 5687, Congress will be taking a crucial leap to change how we deal with drug disposal. In particular, section 2(f) of H.R. 5687 will require the General Accounting Office (GAO) to provide an independent report to Congress on the benefits of in-home disposal of controlled substances. We believe that the bill represents a clear recognition that immediate disposal of prescription medications within the home will reduce the number of new addictions and deaths.

We are grateful for your leadership, and that of your cosponsors, including Representative G.K. Butterfield, in this critical area and we congratulate you on this pioneering legislation. We thank your staff and that of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, especially Preston Bell, who has tirelessly championed deterrent solutions to prevent abuse before it begins.

We are passionate about providing a solution to our country's epidemic of overdose and death brought about by the misuse and abuse of opioids. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to working with you and your colleagues to confront and reverse this crisis. Sincerely, Wm. Simpson, President.

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Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to please support this legislation.

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