WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced today that there are more than 200 sites available throughout the state where Ohioans can safely dispose of unwanted prescription drugs on “National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.” This event, to be held on Saturday from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Drug Take-Back Days are aimed at reducing the amount of expired or unused prescription drugs for illegal use or prescription drug abuse. After the DEA announced that it no longer intended to sponsor National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, Brown and his Senate colleagues sent a letter to DOJ Attorney General Loretta Lynch in May 2015, urging the program’s reinstatement.

“Unused prescription medicines – especially addictive opioid painkillers – must be disposed of in a safe, responsible way to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Too many Ohioans continue to have access to prescription drugs in the family medicine cabinet or from family and friends who no longer use the medicine they were legally prescribed,” Brown said. “That’s why these DEA-sponsored Drug Take-Back Days are so important in Ohio.”

Brown continues his fight to help treat and prevent addiction. A bipartisan bill cosponsored by Brown that would enable health care providers to treat larger numbers of patients struggling with addiction to opioids passed out of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee last month. The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act would update U.S. law to enable qualified physicians to treat larger numbers of patients struggling with addiction and, for the first time, allow certain nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide supervised, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for patients. The bill now awaits action in the full U.S. Senate.

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which passed the Senate in March and is awaiting action by the House, includes Brown’s bipartisan Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act as an amendment. The provision will help prevent wrongful access to opioids and improve patient care for Medicare beneficiaries by putting in place an effective drug abuse prevention plan already operating in Medicaid and commercial plans in Medicare. The plan identifies beneficiaries at risk of addiction in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage and locks them into one prescriber and one pharmacy to help manage potential addiction.

In February, Brown also introduced the Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Reduction Act, which represents a comprehensive approach to address the entire spectrum of addiction. His bill would help address the opioid epidemic from prevention to recovery, filling in gaps that would help: boost prevention, improve tools for crisis response for those who fall through the cracks, expand access to treatment, and provide support for lifelong recovery.

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