Support H.R. 8570
Safe In-home Drug Disposal Initiative
Overview
Recently, Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced H.R. 8570 (Congressional website, Draft PDF), The Safe In-home Drug Disposal and Practical Medication Safety Education Act (The “SIDDI Act”). The SIDDI Act would expand upon a successful program in Iowa that subsidizes pharmacists in their efforts to provide education and disposal solutions when distributing opioid prescriptions. Below, you can download and read the SIDDI Act, as well as a white paper that outlines the benefits of the legislation and shares the context in which it would provide an invaluable tool in the national battle against opioid addiction.
Read the H.R. 8570, the SIDDI Act
Issue background
Leftover prescription opioids pose significant risks, particularly to children and adolescents. Many parents keep these medications at home, contributing to accidental poisonings and misuse. Over 51% of adolescents have accessed opioids through leftover prescriptions at home.10 Addressing this issue through community education and safe disposal programs is crucial to combating the opioid crisis.
Public health demands that we recognize new strategies and spearhead the critical role of prescription medication education and responsible drug disposal. By reducing the risks of leftover and unused medications our communities can significantly contribute to combating the opioid crisis that continues to plague our country.
As we work to bend the curve of opioid misuse, we must keep in mind that overdose deaths are just the most visible symptom of this crisis. Each opioid death represents only a fraction of the problem. For instance, there are an estimated 30 ‘nonfatal overdoses’ for every overdose (~3.2 million)4, not to mention the family psychosocial and national economic consequences (~$1.5 trillion in 2020 alone).5
Keeping unused medications in the home and easy access to leftover prescription opioids is a major source of accidental and intentional pediatric exposures, posing significant risks of morbidity and mortality. Half to 90% of prescribed opioid doses are left over after acute pain treatment in children.6 Three out of 4 middle school children have reported unsupervised access to risky medications in the home.6 Moreover, up to 40% of adolescents who reported opioid misuse accessed unused or leftover prescriptions.6 More than half of the adolescents also reported taking opioids originally prescribed to a friend or family member.7 Also of note is that, most parents have admitted to keeping children’s leftover opioids,8 with 10% to 20% of adults reporting sharing their children’s or their own leftovers between family and friends.8-10
The oversupply of unused opioid medication sitting in home medicine cabinets is putting our communities at risk for accidental poisonings, overdose, and misuse. More than 51% of adolescents surveyed highlighted gaining access to opioids through unused prescriptions at their friend or family’s home.3 This fact highlights the critical need for the presence of community education-based medication safety programs that provide tools to empower patients to support positive behavior changes.
why H.R. 8570 is critical to public health
It is critical that we take every opportunity available to bend the curve of our nation’s opioid epidemic. By supporting proven and innovative programs that aid our pharmacies through improved methods of patient engagement we are bringing to our communities’ real solutions that will make a real difference in how we address and support the way we change the way opioids, and the opioid epidemic is affecting each of our communities.
what you can do
If you support the mission of this legislation, we ask you to prepare an endorsement letter from your company or organization that can be shared with Members of Congress. We already boast the support of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network and have been working with members of congress to pinpoint the needed appropriations. Click here for a free message template.
You can also join the SIDDI Act Coalition, a network of companies and organizations that will facilitate advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. Members of the coalition will be asked to contribute via financial support as we look to pay for lobbying and public relations efforts.
how you can help
- Use the form on the right to add your name and organization to the H.R. 8570 sign on support letter.
- Use this template letter to send an endorsement letter from you or your organization in support of H.R.8570.
- Call your congressman and let them know you support H.R. 8570. Click here to find your congress person by zipcode.
- Join the SIDDI Act Coalition! We need your help to facilitate advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and to get H.R. 5870 enacted into law.
