[Pharmwaste] Oregon Legislature passes pharmaceutical stewardship bill, 4th comprehensive drug EPR law in nation

[Margaret Shield]

After fiery impasses over cap-and-trade legislation, the Oregon Senate went
back to work over the weekend and passed HB 3273
<https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/HB3273>  B Safe
Drug Disposal to create a drug take-back program provided by pharmaceutical
manufacturers. The Senate vote was 27-2 after a House vote of 56-3. Governor
Kate Brown is expected to sign the bill. This will make Oregon the 4th state
in the nation (after WA, NY, and CA) to enact a pharmaceutical stewardship
(aka extended producer responsibility or EPR) law for take-back of
prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

 

Congratulations to Rep. Sheri Schouten (D-27, Beaverton)
<https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/schouten/> , the bill's prime sponsor!
Congratulations to all the organizations and agencies who worked hard to
pass this good bill, which included: Association of Oregon Counties, League
of Oregon Cities, OR State Pharmacy Association, OR Society of Health System
Pharmacists, OR Nurses Association, Coalition of Local Health Officials, OR
Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA), and the OR Pediatric Society.

Many of these organizations have been working for years on this issue, which
was initially championed almost a decade ago by OR ACWA. 

 

I was pleased to play a role over the years in collaborating with several
these Oregon groups, providing drug take-back policy briefings for Oregon
legislators. and providing insights from our pharmaceutical stewardship
policy development and legislative battles in Washington State. During this
session, I provided policy consultation to the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality, which also supported passage of this legislation.

 

Once again, the pressure of passage of a local ordinance (well done
Washington County, OR
<https://www.co.washington.or.us/HHS/News/drug-takeback-ordinance.cfm> ) and
the imminent spread of more local laws, helped pushed the pharmaceutical
industry to the negotiating table on a state bill.  The strong votes in both
chambers show that legislators understand the need for a robust and
sustainable drug take-back program and also support requiring the
pharmaceutical industry to finance and operate the program. However, don't
let the supermajority Yes votes fool you. There is a lot of hard and smart
work needed to get to this strong outcome, through policy development,
coalition-building, and lobbying.

 

The Oregon legislation was primarily modeled on Washington State's Secure
Drug Take-Back Act <https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.48>  of
2018. The policies are very similar in requiring manufacturers to provide a
convenient statewide drug take-back program, with at least 1 secure drop box
in each county, and 1 box in every city or town, and additional drop boxes
for every 50,000 people in each city or town. Prepaid mail-back envelopes
will also be available to all residents, and specifically to in-home hospice
services. Collectors, such as pharmacies and hospitals, are not required to
participate; but importantly, any qualified authorized collector that wants
to participate in the manufacturers' program must be included.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers selling "covered drugs" in Oregon will fund,
design, operate, and promote the drug take-back program.

In several regards, the OR bill is stronger than the WA law (no sunset
clause, for example). On some other issues, the OR bill has some compromises
as a result of PhRMA lobbying (such as exclusion of biologic drugs and pet
medicines).  I plan to put policy comparison analysis up on my website
(www.cehstrategies.com/safer-meds <http://www.cehstrategies.com/safer-meds>
) shortly to help other jurisdictions wanting to craft the strongest policy
that provides the best services to residents.

 

Great to see the momentum for pharmaceutical stewardship growing to help
protect our families from medicine abuse and poisonings, and keep these
drugs out of our waterways! Onward!

 

Margaret Shield, PhD

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Community Environmental Health Strategies, LLC

Smart Science & Policy for Our Health and Environment

Seattle, WA 

 <mailto:margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com>
margaret.shield at CEHstrategies.com

mobile:  206-499-5452

 <http://www.cehstrategies.com/> www.CEHstrategies.com 

 

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