Exploring Options for Safe and Effective In-Home Opioid Disposal

It is important to have safe disposal options for opioids that patients can easily use and access. Providing patients with multiple safe disposal methods can help prevent drug misuse and accidental overdose. Currently, there are a few different available methods for patients to dispose of opioids, including drug take-back kiosks, drug take-back events, mail-back envelopes, flushing, and in-home disposal products – but a better understanding of which efforts are most effective and what patients prefer could better inform policy. These disposal methods are made available with the support of multiple programs, including federal drug take-back days led by the DEA, voluntary retail pharmacy disposal programs – which offer options including in-home disposal products and drug disposal kiosks in stores – and state-mandated programs centered mainly on drug disposal kiosks.

The range of disposal methods and programs available today form a patchwork of different options and approaches for patients which vary by location, but there is an opportunity for the FDA to use its authority to address the need for safe opioid disposal on a federal level. The passage of the 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act granted FDA the authority to require that drug manufacturers provide patients with a safe opioid disposal option when their prescription is dispensed. This specific new authority is part of FDA’s broader authority to require drug manufacturers to implement Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) – drug safety programs for certain medications with serious safety concerns.

On June 28 and 29, 2021, the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy convened a private workshop with participants to explore different opioid disposal options available and consider the potential impact and benefits of FDA requiring manufacturers to provide a safe, in-home disposal option when opioids are dispensed.

Acknowledgement of Federal Support

Funding for this event was made possible, in part, by the Food and Drug Administration through grant U01FD006807. Views expressed in written materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organization imply endorsement by the United States Government.