Yesterday, the Seattle City Council's public safety committee adopted a resolution supporting the medicine return program and encouraging pharmacies and police precincts to participate.
A RESOLUTION expressing the City’s
support for an effective, countywide safe prescription drug disposal program,
including controlled substances, and requesting local pharmacies and the
Seattle Police Department to install drug disposal drop-boxes across the City.
WHEREAS, in
June 2015, the University of Washington (UW) Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute
reported that drug-caused deaths involving heroin and/or methamphetamine peaked
in King County in 2014, including a 58 percent increase in heroin deaths; and
WHEREAS, a
2013 study by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration indicated that four out of five recent heroin users previously
used opioid pain relievers such as oxycodone; and
WHEREAS,
research suggests that these individuals switched to heroin because it is less
expensive in the illegal marketplace than opioid pain relievers; and
WHEREAS, one
component of a comprehensive public health approach to addressing drug abuse is
the safe disposal of unused prescription drugs, including controlled
substances; and
WHEREAS,
safe disposal of unused prescription drugs, especially opioid pain relievers,
reduces the risk of nonmedical use that might lead to drug abuse, including
heroin addiction; and
WHEREAS,
adolescents and young adults who experiment with nonmedical use of opioid pain
relievers are most likely to obtain them from friends and family members who
had received a prescription; and
WHEREAS,
improper disposal of prescription drugs, including controlled substances,
contributes to environmental degradation, as documented in a recent study that
found traces of numerous prescription drugs in Puget Sound waters, as described
in a 2016 article in the journal Environmental
Pollution; and
WHEREAS,
President Obama recently announced a number of new actions to address opioid
abuse and proposed spending $1.1 billion in his FY 2017 budget for this
purpose; and
WHEREAS,
many pharmacies in the Seattle area have offered drug disposal drop-boxes for
unused vitamins, over-the-counter medicines, and some prescription drugs; and
WHEREAS, per
an October 2014 U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency rule, police departments and
pharmacies may now provide safe disposal boxes for controlled substances like
OxyContin, Vicodin, Valium, and Ritalin; and
WHEREAS, a
growing number of police departments in King County are offering safe disposal
of controlled substances, including Auburn, Bothell, Burien, Issaquah, Kenmore,
Lake Forest Park, Maple Valley, Sammamish, Snoqualmie, and Woodinville; and
WHEREAS,
King County has launched a new effort to enhance safe prescription drug
disposal efforts and a stewardship organization retained by King County will be
providing funding for installation of drop-boxes, staff training, and collection
of the drugs; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE
MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:
Section 1. The City Council and the Mayor ask that local
pharmacies partner with King County to provide safe drug disposal drop-boxes at
locations across the City.
Section 2. The City Council and the Mayor likewise request
the Seattle Police Department to install prescription drug disposal drop-boxes
at each of its five precincts.
Section 3. The City Council and the
Mayor ask that other appropriate City agencies like the Department of
Neighborhoods, the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, and the Office for
Civil Rights offer assistance to King County to help ensure that the County’s
drop-box disposal program is designed to be culturally appropriate and
accessible for marginalized populations, including limited English speakers.
