Keating Drug-Take Back Provision Included in Comprehensive Opioid Legislation

 

“As a former District Attorney, I saw first-hand the effectiveness of take-back days at police stations, and I continue to see their value in communities across the Commonwealth,” said Congressman Keating.  “The CDC reports that healthcare providers in the US write 259 million prescriptions for opioids each year—enough for every American adult to have their own bottle of pills. And in Massachusetts alone, 4.4 million opioid prescriptions — including 240 million pills, capsules, or tablets — were dispensed in 2014. Too many leftover prescription pills make it into the hands of people to whom they weren’t prescribed. I believe that fewer addictive opioids sitting in medicine cabinets will result in fewer unintended.”

 

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make necessary changes to Federal law to combat opioid addiction and abuse and increases access for medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction.

 

In addition to the Keating Provision authorizing drug-take back programs, the legislation also contains a stand-alone section to help create and/or expand drug take-back programs the communities might want to start on their own.

 

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