Pl 111-273

[111th Congress Public Law 273]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

[[Page 2857]]

SECURE AND RESPONSIBLE DRUG DISPOSAL ACT OF 2010

[[Page 124 STAT. 2858]]

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. <<NOTE: Oct. 12, 2010 - [S. 3397]>>

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Secure and
Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 21 USC 801 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal
Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 21 USC 822 note.>> 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get outdated or unused medications off household shelves and out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 124 STAT. 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 <<NOTE: Regulations.>> 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 124 STAT. 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 <<NOTE: 28 USC 994.>> 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.

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