Trone Bill to Safely Dispose of Opioids Signed by President Biden into Law

Press Release

Today, President Joe Biden signed Representative David Trone's bill, the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescriptions (DUMP) Opioids Acts, into law. Trone introduced the bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), which passed the House floor on Tuesday. The bill was introduced by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) in the Senate and passed the Senate earlier this year by unanimous consent.

In January 2021, H.R. 7105, the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, was signed into law. Under this law, which takes effect on January 1, 2022, the VA is required to set up prescription drop boxes on VA campuses so that patients can safely dispose of unused and excess controlled substance medications. The DUMP Opioids Act would expand this law so that anyone, not just VA patients, can dispose of controlled substances medications at VA centers.

"I came to Congress to pass legislation to end the opioid epidemic, and this bipartisan bill is an example of how we can work together in Washington to actually get something done to end the epidemic that killed 93,000 people last year alone," said Congressman David Trone, founder of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives. "We need to continue working together on both sides of the aisle and with all levels of government and the private sector to dedicate more funding and resources to the addiction epidemic."

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans' Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees in the 117th Congress and previously served on the Education and Labor and Foreign Affairs Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.

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