Trone Legislation to Safely Dispose of Opioids Passes House Floor, Heads to President Biden’s Desk for Signature
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2021
Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov
Trone Legislation to Safely Dispose of Opioids Passes House Floor, Heads to President Biden’s Desk for Signature
WASHINGTON — Representative David Trone (D-MD) announced that his bipartisan legislation, the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescriptions (DUMP) Opioids Acts, passed the House floor and is now headed to the President’s desk for signature. Trone introduced the bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA). The bill was introduced by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Jon Tester (D-MT) in the Senate and passed the Senate earlier this year by unanimous consent.
In January 2021, H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, was signed into law. Under this law, which takes effect on January 1, 2022, the VA is required to set up prescription drop boxes on VA campuses so that patients can safely dispose of unused and excess controlled substances medications. The DUMP Opioids Act would expand this law so that anyone, not just patients, can dispose of controlled substances medications at VA centers.
“By ensuring that people have a safe way to dispose of their medications at VA facilities, we can prevent the prevalence of opioids in our communities,” said Congressman David Trone, founder of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives. “We must take action to combat the opioid crisis in this country and legislation like the DUMP Opioids Act is a good first step. I want to thank Congresswoman Miller-Meeks for working with me on a bipartisan basis to get this bill passed and signed into law.”
Last year, drug overdose deaths reached a record high of 93,000. The opioid epidemic has taken the lives of far too many Americans and this bill will ensure that controlled substances are harder to access.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees in the 117th Congress and previously served on the Education and Labor and Foreign Affairs Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
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