IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5809 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for takeback disposal of controlled substances in certain instances, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Drug Disposal 

3 Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DELIVERY OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES BY ULTI5 MATE USERS FOR DISPOSAL. 

6 (a) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Section 302 of the 

7 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 822) is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(g)(1) An ultimate user who has lawfully obtained 

10 a controlled substance in accordance with this title may, 

11 without being registered, deliver the controlled substance 

12 to another person for the purpose of disposal of the con13 trolled substance if— 

14 ‘‘(A) the person receiving the controlled sub15 stance is authorized under this title to receive and 

16 dispose of the controlled substance; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the delivery and disposal takes place in ac18 cordance with regulations issued by the Attorney 

19 General to prevent diversion of controlled sub20 stances. 

21 The regulations referred to in subparagraph (B) shall be 

22 consistent with the public health and safety. In developing 

23 such regulations, the Attorney General shall take into con24 sideration the ease and cost of program implementation 

25 and participation by various communities. Such regulaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:38 Sep 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5809.RFS H5809

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1 tions may not require any entity to establish or operate 

2 a delivery or disposal program. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall, by regulation, au4 thorize long-term care facilities, as defined by the Attor5 ney General by regulation, to deliver for disposal con6 trolled substances on behalf of ultimate users in a manner 

7 that the Attorney General determines will provide effective 

8 controls against diversion and be consistent with the pub9 lic health and safety. 

10 ‘‘(3) If a person dies while lawfully in possession of 

11 a controlled substance for personal use, any person law12 fully entitled to dispose of the decedent’s property may 

13 deliver the controlled substance to another person for the 

14 purpose of disposal under the same conditions as provided 

15 in paragraph (1) for an ultimate user.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 308(b) of 

17 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 828(b)) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by striking the period at the end of para20 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) the delivery of such a substance for the 

23 purpose of disposal by an ultimate user, long-term 

24 care facility, or other person acting in accordance 

25 with section 302(g).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN. 

2 The Director of National Drug Control Policy, in con3 sultation with the Administrator of the Environmental 

4 Protection Agency, shall carry out a public education and 

5 outreach campaign to increase awareness of how ultimate 

6 users may lawfully and safely dispose of prescription 

7 drugs, including controlled substances, through drug take8 back programs and other appropriate means. 

9 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT. 

10 The Comptroller General of the United States shall— 

11 (1) collect data on the delivery, transfer, and 

12 disposal of controlled substances under section 

13 302(g) of the Controlled Substances Act, as added 

14 by section 2; and 

15 (2) not later than 4 years after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act, submit findings and rec17 ommendations to the Congress regarding use, effec18 tiveness, and accessibility of disposal programs. 

19 SEC. 5. EPA STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. 

20 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Environ21 mental Protection Agency (in this section referred to as 

22 the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall— 

23 (1) in consultation with relevant State and local 

24 officials and other sources of relevant technical ex25 pertise, conduct a study to— 


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1 (A) examine the environmental impacts re2 sulting from the ultimate disposal of controlled 

3 substances through existing methods; 

4 (B) taking into consideration such impacts, 

5 and the ease and cost of implementation of 

6 drug take-back programs and participation in 

7 such programs by various communities, formu8 late appropriate recommendations on the de9 struction or ultimate disposal of prescription 

10 drugs, including controlled substances; and 

11 (C) identify additional authority needed to 

12 carry out such recommendations if the Adminis13 trator determines that the Administrator’s ex14 isting legal authorities are insufficient to imple15 ment such recommendations; and 

16 (2) not later than 18 months after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act, submit a report to the 

18 Congress on the results of such study. 


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1 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to affect the Administrator’s au3 thority under other provisions of law. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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