To help find policy solutions to our nation’s opioid abuse epidemic, CADCA, former Member of Congress Mary Bono and the Trust for America’s Health, launched a Collaborative for Effective Prescription Opioid Policies (CEPOP), about a year ago. Today, CADCA was invited by CEPOP to be part of a briefing on Capitol Hill about the various ways that the Rx opioid abuse epidemic is being addressed around the nation.<\/p>\n
Speakers included Dr. Anita Gupta, Associate Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine, Brian Meshkin, President and CEO, Proove Biosciences, John Donahue, Chairman and CEO, Axial Healthcare and CADCA\u2019s Chairman and CEO General Arthur T. Dean spoke about safe disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they are uniquely positioned within their communities, our coalitions were among the first to raise concerns about a growing opiate crisis. At first, CADCA coalitions were dealing with this problem in pockets of the country \u2013 in Appalachia, for example. Now, of course, we face a nationwide epidemic,\u201d General Dean told the group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
General Dean also informed the group about CADCA\u2019s new project with support from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals to explore safe disposal options and public attitudes in four Florida counties.<\/p>\n
The communities of practice project began in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency\u2019s Take Back Day on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working with four Drug-Free Communities grantees in Hillsborough, Collier, Seminole and Manatee counties. Our goal is to spark local dialogue by providing 40,000 drug deactivation pouches to the community and surveying people in those communities about their relationships between their medications and safe storage and disposal,\u201d Gen. Dean said.<\/p>\n
Drug deactivation systems that meet the DEA rule\u2019s standard for disposal that drugs are rendered \u201cnon-retrievable\u201d by the disposal method are supported by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The pouches, manufactured by Verde, are a new addition to the 2015 National Drug Control Strategy. The drug pouches can neutralize and render harmless up to 90 pills and a person can dispose of this pouch in their trash because the package is biodegradable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gen. Dean then reminded the group that \u201cIt is important to note that this technology sprung from a 2013 NIDA Small Business Innovation Research contract, an example of a public \u2013 private collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n