Pharmaceutical companies would pay for statewide drug takeback programs under new bill

Published 11:17 am Monday, February 28, 2011

British Columbia passed a law thirteen years ago requiring drug companies to foot the bill for take-back and safe disposal of the drugs they sell.
Now lawmakers in Washington state are hoping to follow suit, with a Secure Medicine Take-Back Bill
“Each year Washington spends: $16.2 million to hospitalize and treat children for unintentional poisonings from pain relievers and other medicines;  $9.3 million for emergency room costs for kids who accidentally ingested pain relievers and other medicines; and $6.2 million in expenses related to accidental overdose deaths of children. This totals $31.7 million dollars,” said Andrea Wedderburn, Public Relations Representative for the Take Back Your Meds campaign. “With this new bill, this money could be saved and more importantly lives could be protected.”
While a smattering of take-back programs is slowly emerging in many communities, she said lack of funding has been a roadblock to progress. 
“A number of communities across the state are operating some kind of take-back program,” said Margaret Shield, Policy Liason for King County’s Local Hazardous Waste Management Program.
“These takeback programs are needed by our communities in order to get these medicines out of our homes and dispose of them without hurting our water quality. But their funding sources are often cobbled together … and not long-term.” Some communities can’t afford a program at all; others can’t afford proper high-temperature waste incineration, and harmful gases can escape when lesser methods are used.
Shield is currently working with the Take Back Your Meds Coalition to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill 5234. She said that Washington residents purchase $4 billion in prescription and over-the-counter drugs each year, and the bill would require drug companies to pay a maximum total of $2.5 million annually, which averages out to a cost of one penny for every $16 of drugs purchased.
“It could get passed along to the consumer, but we think it would be worth it,” said Shields. “We really hope it wouldn’t be a visible impact [on drug costs].”
The bill is not a tax on drug purchases and is not part of the strained state budget, but instead would set up a pharmaceutical company-funded nonprofit Medicine Return Association required to provide take-back and disposal sites in every county and some cities across the state. The more efficiently the companies meet the requirement, the less the program will cost.
“If a company sells medicines in this state, they need to pay some share of this program,” said Shield. “The bill allows all companies to work together to divide up the cost; all the same companies already do this up in BC [under the BC Medications Return Program].”
Under the bill San Juan County would receive one fully association-funded take-back site.
“One thing that could certainly be done, is to hold a collection on each island and then consolidate to the paid site for disposal,” said Shield, adding that disposal charges are often the main cost burden of take-back programs. Drugs need to be burned in special high-temperature incinerators, and Shields said Bartell’s Drugs currently pays a cost of $1 per pound for shipping and incineration.
The county’s take-back program is currently being funded by a federal grant through the Islands’ Prevention Coalition. San Juan County undersheriff Jon Zerby said the sheriff’s department contributes only a small amount of man-hours to collect drugs from the drop boxes at each pharmacy.
“I hear many people say this bill is a no-brainer, but the drug companies are strongly opposing this bill; they have not had to pay for this responsibility in the past and they don’t want to pay for it now,” said Shield.

The bill was killed in the House, and is up for vote in the Senate this week.Senator Kevin Ranker has co-sponsored the bill during the past two years.
Representatives Jeff Morris and Kris Lytton did not respond to Sounder inquiries regarding their positions on this bill.