Amy Klobuchar: “I rise today to urge the Drug Enforcement Administration to issue the final rule necessary to implement the Secure and…”

“I rise today to urge the Drug Enforcement Administration to issue the final rule necessary to implement the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010. I note that year--2010--because that is the year this bipartisan bill was passed. What it does is it provides consumers with safe and responsible ways to dispose of unused prescription medications and controlled substances. I thank Senator Cornyn, who was the lead cosponsor on the Republican side of this legislation, as well as Senator Grassley and Senator Brown, for working with me on the legislation. The important law expands safe disposal options for individuals and for long-item care facilities, and it promotes the development and expansion of prescription drug take-back programs. As the Presiding Officer knows, this simply means that when you get prescription drugs and you do not use all of them--or your doctor prescribes something else--you do not just leave them in your medicine cabinet, where someone else might be taking them. Instead, you find a safe place to dispose of them, so someone else does not start taking them and potentially get hooked on the drug. Why did I mention 2010? Well, 2010 was the year President Obama signed this bill into law. It has now been 4 years--4 years--as we have awaited the rules. I will describe why, but I think it is time to put this law into action. The DEA issued a proposed rule in December 2012. Unfortunately, that took 2 years.…”