Hudson Introduces Safe In-Home Drug Disposal Initiative (SIDDI) Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-09) introduced the Safe In-Home Drug Disposal Initiative (SIDDI) Act of 2024(H.R. 8570) to create a program to implement safe, convenient and effective in-home opioid prescription disposal and safety education to reduce and prevent drug overdoses.

“Over the past decade, overdose rates have more than doubled - some of these being completely preventable,” said Rep. Hudson.“I am proud to address the opioid crisis head-on by giving incentives to provide safety education and resources for patients to dispose of their addictive medicines from their home.”

This legislation is supported by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and CPESN USA.

Background: In households across the U.S., 42 - 71% of opioids go unused and pose a risk to public health with unintended dangers. As a convenient, in-home solution, Iowa and Missouri implemented a program for safe and immediate disposal.

This program would allow pharmacists to engage with a patient at the pharmacy counter to gauge patient understanding of medication disposal and evaluate their understanding to provide disposal tools and methods to the patient.

In these states, metrics have been put in place to evaluate disposal rates and attitude shifts towards these medicines. This pilot program is expected to expand to six additional states in the coming years.

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