Trone bill to safely dispose of opioids signed into law
Credit: The Garrett County Republican
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed Rep. David Trone’s bill, the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescriptions Opioids Acts, into law July 29.
Trone, D-Md., introduced the bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, which passed the House floor July 27. The bill was introduced by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., in the Senate and passed the Senate earlier this year by unanimous consent.
In January, H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, was signed into law. Under this law, which takes effect Jan. 1, the VA is required to set up prescription drop boxes on VA campuses so that patients can safely dispose of unused and excess controlled substance medications. The DUMP Opioids Act would expand this law so that anyone, not just VA patients, can dispose of controlled substances medications at VA centers.
“I came to Congress to pass legislation to end the opioid epidemic, and this bipartisan bill is an example of how we can work together in Washington to actually get something done to end the epidemic that killed 93,000 people last year alone,” said Trone, founder of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives. “We need to continue working together on both sides of the aisle and with all levels of government and the private sector to dedicate more funding and resources to the addiction epidemic.”
