A new proposal from Westchester County lawmakers would require that chain pharmacies take back leftover prescription drugs in an effort to help guard against drug abuse and waterway contamination.
In particular, lawmakers hope the bill—which was referred to committee on Jan. 22 at a Board of Legislators meeting—will help stem the tide of a fatal opioid epidemic in the county and nationwide.
According to documents regarding the introduction of the program, in 2015, 107 Westchester County residents died of fatal drug overdoses, and 83 percent of those deaths were caused by heroin—many of such users started with using prescription opioids.
While some of such leftover prescription drugs make their way into the hands of abusers, others are flushed down the sink or toilet and eventually make their way into waterways.
According to a U.S. geological study from 2002, 80 percent of streams tested across the country contained at least one pharmaceutical.
If signed into law, the bill—called the Product Stewardship Program—would apply to pharmacies with three or more locations to participate, and failure to comply could result in $1,000 daily fines. Neighboring Rockland County has already implemented a similar program according to Westchester Board of Legislators documents.
A current draft of the bill would also allow residents to mail their drugs to a pharmacy instead of delivering in person.
In addition to prescription drug drop-off days, in which the county allows residents to return their drugs to designated locations, lawmakers have kickstarted similar efforts to help blockade against drug abuse in the past year, including joining a lawsuit in 2017 against large pharmaceutical companies.
In the suit, which includes eight other counties in New York state, lawmakers allege that pharmaceutical companies’ negligence flooded communities with powerful prescription pain medication, which has been a major contributing factor to addiction rates and fatalities across the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2015, opioids were responsible for 33,000 deaths across the country; in Westchester, opioid-related deaths jumped 200 percent between 2010 to 2015.
