WASHINGTON, D.C. (KLFY) — U.S. President Joe Biden has signed Sen. John Kennedy’s DUMP Opioids Act into law today, allowing people to use VA medical center drop boxes to dispose of unused opioid prescriptions.
“With the DUMP Opioids Act law, Americans will have an easy, safe way to get unneeded prescription opioids off the street,” said Kennedy. “The pandemic has contributed to the opioid epidemic, and I’m thankful that President Biden and Congress came together to put this commonsense, compassionate law in place. Louisiana communities struggling against this crisis now have a key tool to fight and prevent addiction—and that makes everyone safer.”
Beginning in 2022, certain VA medical centers will be approved to have drop boxes that veterans can use every day to drop off unused medications, and the DUMP Opioids Act would make those drop boxes accessible to their entire communities. The bill instructs the VA Secretary to designate times that the public can dispose of prescriptions at the drop boxes and allows the secretary to carry out public information campaigns to highlight those times.
The Senate passed the act unanimously in April and the House passed it unanimously earlier this week.