	Introduction

Prescription drug abuse is the second-most common form of illicit drug abuse among teenagers in the United States, trailing only marijuana use. The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), R. Gil Kerlikowske, has called prescription drug abuse "the fastest-growing drug problem in the United States" and "a serious public health concern." Controlled substances, such as the narcotic pain relievers OxyContin® and Vicodin®, are among the most often abused prescription drugs. Young adults and teenagers may have easy access to prescription drugs via their parents' medicine cabinets, from their friends or relatives, or they may retrieve expired or unwanted medication from the trash. A possible approach to addressing the prescription drug abuse problem is to reduce the availability of such drugs by patients disposing of unwanted medications that have been accumulating in their homes. Some local and state government agencies and grassroots organizations have established drug disposal programs (often referred to as pharmaceutical "take-back" programs) to facilitate the collection of unused, unwanted, or expired medications for incineration or other method of destruction that complies with federal and state laws and regulations, including those relating to public health and the environment. However, these take-back programs often exclude controlled substance medications because federal law currently does not allow for a patient to deliver a controlled substance to another entity for disposal purposes, unless local law enforcement has obtained a waiver from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to take custody of the unused controlled substances from patients and destroy them. As a consequence, those seeking to reduce the amount of unwanted controlled substances in their households have few alternative disposal options beyond discarding or flushing them. This report presents an overview of the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations that relate to patient disposal of unwanted prescription medication, as well as describes legislation introduced in the 111 th Congress that would amend federal law to provide for more accessible methods of secure and environmentally responsible disposal of dispensed controlled substances. Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010

Introduced on May 24, 2010, by Senator Klobuchar, S. 3397 amends the CSA to allow an ultimate user—without being registered—to deliver controlled substances to an entity that is authorized under the CSA to dispose of them, providing that such disposal occurs in accordance with regulations issued by the Attorney General to prevent diversion of controlled substances. Also, the bill grants the Attorney General discretion to promulgate regulations that authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of controlled substances on behalf of ultimate users who reside (or have resided) at the long-term care facilities. Among other things, the findings observe that "[l]ong-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," and that "[t]he 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 in a secure and responsible manner." On July 29, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 3397 after adopting an amendment that directs the Attorney General, in developing regulations governing drug disposal, to take into consideration the public health and safety, as well as the ease and cost of program implementation and participation by various communities. On October 12, 2010, President Obama signed S. 3397 into law ( P.L. 111-273 ). Other Related Bills

Representative Inslee introduced the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2010 ( H.R. H.R. Representative Shea-Porter introduced the Safe Prescription Drug Disposal and Education Act ( H.R. H.R.
According to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the intentional use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes is the fastest-growing drug problem in the country and the second-most common form of illicit drug abuse among teenagers in the United States, behind marijuana use. Young adults and teenagers may find their parents' prescription drugs in unsecured medicine cabinets or other obvious locations in the home, or they may retrieve expired or unwanted medication from the trash. It is believed that properly disposing of unwanted medications would help prevent prescription drug abuse by reducing the accessibility and availability of such drugs. Yet throwing prescription medications into the trash or flushing them down the toilet may not be environmentally desirable. In response, many local communities and states have implemented pharmaceutical disposal programs (often referred to as drug "take-back" programs) that collect unused and unwanted medications from patients for incineration or other method of destruction that complies with federal and state laws and regulations, including those relating to public health and the environment.
Prescription drugs may be categorized as either controlled substance medication or non-controlled substance medication. Pharmaceutical controlled substances, such as narcotic pain relievers OxyContin® and Vicodin®, are among the most commonly abused prescription drugs. However, community take-back programs usually only accept non-controlled substance medication, in compliance with the federal Controlled Substances Act. This statute comprehensively governs all distributions of controlled substances, and it currently does not allow for a patient to transfer a controlled substance to another entity for any purpose, including disposal of the drug. (Federal regulations provide a limited exception to this general prohibition—local law enforcement may obtain a waiver from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to collect unused controlled substances from patients and destroy them.) As a consequence, patients seeking to reduce the amount of unwanted controlled substances in their possession have few alternative disposal options beyond discarding or flushing them.
The 111th Congress has considered legislation that would create a legal framework governing disposal of controlled substances that have been dispensed to patients. On October 12, 2010, President Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 (S. 3397) into law (P.L. 111-273). P.L. 111-273 amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow a patient to deliver controlled substances to an entity that is authorized by federal law to dispose of them, providing that such disposal occurs in accordance with regulations issued by the Attorney General to prevent diversion of controlled substances. The Attorney General is required, in developing those regulations, to take into consideration the public health and safety, as well as the ease and cost of drug disposal program implementation and participation by various communities. Also, P.L. 111-273 gives the Attorney General discretion to issue regulations that authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of controlled substances on behalf of patients who reside in those facilities.
Other related bills in the 111th Congress include the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2010 (H.R. 5809), the Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2009 (H.R. 1191, S. 1336), the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2009 (H.R. 1359, S. 1292), and the Safe Prescription Drug Disposal and Education Act (H.R. 5925).