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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">More press on last week and the two hearings on EPR ordinances. My hope is someday soon we can agree on what is a fair sharing of the responsibilities and costs of doing a national convenient, free at end of
life medicine take-back program to help end prescription drug abuse in this country and the horrible toll it is taking on families and communities.
<br>
<br>
Heidi<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:#221D4D">Heidi Sanborn</span></b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:#221D4D">
</span><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">|</span></b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:#221D4D">
<b>Executive</b> <b>Director<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:black"><img width="229" height="89" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D1CAEE.B946D7F0" alt="cid:image001.jpg@01D1964F.48328BF0"></span><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:#221D4D"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-size:2.0pt;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:#221D4D">C: (916) 402-3911
</span><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#221D4D">|
</span><span style="color:#002060"><a href="mailto:heidi@nsaction.us"><span style="color:#002060">heidi@nsaction.us</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><b><span style="font-size:2.0pt;color:#002060"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="color:#1F497D">
</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nationalstewardshipactioncouncil"><span style="color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="27" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D1CAEE.B946D7F0" alt="cid:image002.jpg@01D1964F.48328BF0"></span></a><span style="color:black"> <img border="0" width="27" height="28" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D1CAEE.B946D7F0" alt="cid:image003.jpg@01D1964F.48328BF0"> </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-stewardship-action-council"><span style="color:#1F497D;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="27" height="26" id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D1CAEE.B946D7F0" alt="cid:image004.jpg@01D1964F.48328BF0"></span></a><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="danger-zone"><span style="font-size:26.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Pharma loses one battle over drug take-back programs, but wins another</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="danger-zone"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222"><img border="0" width="415" height="415" id="Picture_x0020_25" src="cid:image007.jpg@01D1CAEE.BA0238B0" alt="https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Pills_APStock_AP65086147-500x500.jpg"><span class="big-cap"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="danger-zone"><span class="big-cap"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">APSTOCK<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone"><span class="big-cap"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222"><a href="https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/06/16/take-back-programs-drug-abuse/">https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/06/16/take-back-programs-drug-abuse/</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone"><span class="big-cap"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">By ED SILVERMAN @Pharmalot<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone" style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span class="big-cap"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">JUNE 16, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone" style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span class="big-cap"><i><span style="font-size:60.0pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">T</span></i></span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">he
latest skirmishes over drug<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.snohd.org/Portals/0/Snohd/Waste/images/Medicine_Return_Flyer_v4.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">take-back programs</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>yielded
a mixed outcome this week for the pharmaceutical industry, which has been battling local governments that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/04/26/drug-abuse-take-back/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">want
drug makers</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to pick up the tab.</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222"><br>
Two days ago, officials in Snohomish County, Wash., voted unanimously to require drug companies to run a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.snohd.org/Portals/0/Snohd/Waste/files/Ord%20No%2016-001%20-%20Secure%20Medicine%20Return.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">program</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>that
would allow consumers to dispose of unwanted and unused medicines. At the same, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors delayed passing a similar ordinance until November, when they will review an existing disposal program that is not financed by industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">The actions, nonetheless, underscore the growing challenge that the pharmaceutical industry faces as more local governments consider such programs. So far, eight counties or cities in
California and Washington have created programs that require drug makers to foot the bill, and environmental activists noted that more are being proposed elsewhere, such as in Cook County, Ill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="danger-zone" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">Local officials are pursuing these laws in the face of rising disposal costs, growing<a href="https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2016/06/13/diabetes-metformin-contaminants/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">concerns
about contaminants<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></a>in water supplies, and a desire to reduce the threat of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.statnews.com/2015/11/18/drug-use-disorder-nih-heroin/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">drug
abuse</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>stemming from medicines lingering in cabinets. And they have been emboldened after the US Supreme Court last year<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/052615zor_2co3.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">upheld</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the
legality of the first such ordinance, which was passed in 2012 in Alameda County, Calif.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">“We do have an existing take-back program, but we can’t sustain it financially,” Jefferson Ketchel, the Snohomish County Health District’s environmental health director, told us. “The
pharmaceutical industry resisted this, but we studied what other counties (that have ordinances) have done and felt this was appropriate.” The program is estimated to cost about $570,000 annually.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">For its part, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, <a href="http://freepdfhosting.com/c7278cab64.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">objected</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to
the effort, saying that maintaining the program would be unwieldy and require the added burden of adhering to US Drug Enforcement Administration regulations because controlled substances would likely be turned in by consumers. The trade group also complained
that a mail-back option could be used to divert medicines.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#1FADB6;border:solid #D5D5D5 1.0pt;padding:0in"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">PhRMA, instead, suggested the county embrace an industry effort called<a href="http://myoldmeds.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">MyOldMeds.com</span></a>,
which recommends unused drugs should be placed with cat litter, sawdust, or coffee grinds in plastic bags, and then tossed in the trash. A PhRMA spokeswoman wrote us that this is “the safest, most convenient, affordable and eco-friendly method” for disposing
unwanted medicines.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">But environmental activists say this should be a last resort. And the US Food and Drug Administration recommended this option only when take-back programs are not available.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">In Los Angeles, meanwhile, a proposed ordinance was tabled amid skepticism about the effectiveness of existing programs created by other local governments. “In spite of widespread public
support, these efforts have not made much progress due to various obstacles and were ultimately unsuccessful,” Michael Antonovich, a Los Angeles County supervisor wrote in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://freepdfhosting.com/122c26f70b.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">motion</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to
delay a program.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">In the interim, the pharmaceutical industry, which opposed the ordinance in Los Angeles, as well, will be asked to undertake a public education program about the proper disposal of unwanted
medicines. The PhRMA spokeswoman praised the decision not to pass the ordinance and said the educational effort will include MyOldMeds.com.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;box-sizing: border-box">
<span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:#222222">One environmental activist told us the decision is a “slight setback” and remains optimistic that an ordinance will pass. “Siding with corporate interests over public health and safety
can be a dangerous political position, and the people will have the final say,” said Heidi Sanborn, who heads the National Stewardship Action Council. “This is not over,” she told us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="author-info" style="mso-margin-top-alt:15.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#222222;letter-spacing:.75pt">Ed Silverman can be reached at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:ed.silverman@statnews.com"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">ed.silverman@statnews.com</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br>
Follow Ed on Twitter<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Pharmalot" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1FADB6;text-decoration:none">@Pharmalot</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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