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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
OP/ED COLUMN
Bill addresses drug disposal
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
An interesting bill was heard for the first time in a marathon three-hour Environmental Policy Committee hearing Feb. 9. What HF 1217 does is establish a product stewardship program whereby drug manufacturers would be required to collect and dispose of unwanted and unused medications. While there is a need for proper disposal of drugs that are no longer usable, this program is not the answer.
The most common method of disposal today for unused drugs is to simply flush them down the toilet. However, residues have been detected in our sanitary water systems, in part because today’s technology allows us to detect residue as small as “parts per billion” or even smaller. Some of this residue, no doubt, comes from the aforementioned disposal, but part of it comes from the natural process of elimination from the human body. I asked if research had been done to determine how much of this residue occurs naturally through human waste and how much comes from the actual disposal. No one could answer that question.
Another aspect of this bill that would affect all consumers is the cost of this new disposal method, which in all likelihood, would be passed on to those who purchase drugs. We heard from a representative of generic drug manufacturers who gave statistics showing that generic drugs make up 74 percent of all medications but account for only 22 percent of the overall cost. They are very concerned about the expense of this proposed recycling program because of the relatively low cost of their products. We were told that the average cost of a generic prescription is around $11, with some units being priced around $1. If this program would include some kind of return envelope for unused medications that the manufacturer would then need to have disposed of, the cost of the disposal could be more than the original cost of the drug. In short, this program would raise the cost of medications and overall health care for Minnesota residents.
We also heard from a sheriff’s officer in Chisago County, where they have a very successful program for collecting and disposing of unused drugs. They have two secure collection boxes in their county where residents can drop off their old meds. When a sufficient quantity has been collected, the drugs are analyzed for their exact content and then transported by police officer to a disposal site in southern Illinois. It was estimated that 1,400 pounds of drugs, worth approximately a half-million dollars, have been collected and disposed of since the program began in October of 2007.
Representatives of the Pollution Control Agency testified that the preferred method of disposal today is the put the unused drugs into some kind of container and surround them with something like coffee grounds or cat litter to discourage anyone from taking them out of garbage containers. They can then be disposed of with regular household trash.
Legislators attended an all-day lecture session Feb. 10 at the Hubert Humphrey Institute at the U of M. Several outstanding speakers were in attendance, along with a special appearance by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner at noon. O’Conner, the first woman to be appointed to the nation’s highest court, spoke about judicial selection and implored Minnesota to not become one of the states that allow partisan and high-priced elections for judgeships. She commented, “Minnesota is an impressive state, and other states pay attention to what you do here. We need to have an independent and impartial judicial branch of government.”
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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