News Releases

Merritt Presents Bill to Require Drug Manufacturers to Finance Take-Back Programs

STATE HOUSE (Jan. 31, 2018) — State Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis) today presented Senate Bill 338 in the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services.

SB 338, authored by Merritt, would require pharmaceutical manufacturers to finance a statewide drug take-back program for all prescription drugs. This bill would also transfer the powers of administering drug take-back programs from the Indiana Board of Pharmacy to the Indiana State Department of Health and would establish the Drug Take-Back Fund.

“Our state’s current take-back program just isn’t capable of handling the amount of unused prescription drugs in our communities,” Merritt said. “We need a statewide plan that gives people in rural, suburban and urban areas take-back options year-round. I’m glad we started this discussion today, and I look forward to continuing to look into this new approach to take-back programs.”

The City of San Francisco and the state of Massachusetts also use this tactic in confronting the opioid epidemic.

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Contact: Lauren Beatty, Press Secretary
Lauren.Beatty@iga.in.gov
317-234-9221