[Pharmwaste] NY Governor Cuomo Vetoes Flawed Drug Take-Back Bill

[Scott Cassel]

We are pleased to report that, yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed New York State (NYS) bill S.06750/A.387-B that would have required chain pharmacies to collect and dispose of unused controlled substances (see attached).

The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), New York Product Stewardship Council (NYPSC), and Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) jointly urged the Governor to veto this bill for three key reasons. The bill would have:

*         required NY chain pharmacies and consumers to pay for drug take-back and excused drug manufacturers from taking financial responsibility;

*         neglected NYS residents in areas not served by chain pharmacies, especially rural communities; and

*         preempted a strong existing local extended producer responsibility (EPR) drug take-back law in NYS and undermined efforts by counties that have introduced or plan to introduce similar bills.

PSI, NYPSC, and CCE organized a wide range of stakeholders to oppose the bill, and encouraged the Governor instead to pursue an EPR approach to drug disposal. While we greatly appreciate the Legislature's attention on addressing this important issue, we did not believe the drafted bill would have been effective in achieving its goals.

We applaud the Governor's leadership in vetoing the bill, and are hopeful that he will support a producer-funded drug take-back program through his executive budget. Such a bill would save government and taxpayers money, provide consumer convenience, fairly incorporate the true cost of managing these products into the purchase price, and provide a direct financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

Passing a truly effective drug take-back bill in NYS will ultimately help battle the unfortunate opioid abuse epidemic and protect our water from pharmaceutical contamination.



________________________________
Scott Cassel
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.
29 Stanhope Street, Boston, MA 02116
617-236-4822 (ph); 617-236-4766 (fax)
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