Effective 5/12/2020
67-5-36. Drug Disposal Program.
67-5-36. Drug Disposal Program.
- (1) As used in the section:
- (a) “Controlled substance” means the same as that term is defined in Section 58-37-2.
- (b) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Quality.
- (c) “Environmentally friendly” means a controlled substance that is rendered:
- (i) non-retrievable, as determined by the attorney general in consultation with the department;
- (ii) non-hazardous, as determined by the department; and
- (iii) permissible to dispose in a landfill in a manner that does not violate state or federal law relating to surface water or groundwater.
- (d) “Home controlled substance disposal receptacle” means a receptacle provided by the program that can be used by an individual to render a small amount of controlled substances at an individual’s residence non-retrievable and environmentally friendly.
- (e) “Non-retrievable” means the same as that term is defined in 21 C.F.R. 1300.05.
- (f) “Program” means the Drug Disposal Program described in this section.
- (g) “Repository” means a controlled substance disposal repository described in Subsection (3).
- (2) The attorney general may, in coordination with the department and within funds available for this purpose, administer a program, known as the Drug Disposal Program, to provide for the safe, secure, and environmentally friendly disposal of controlled substances in the state.
- (3) The attorney general and the department, in developing and implementing the program:
- (a) may work with law enforcement agencies, pharmacies, hospitals, and other entities to ensure that one or more repositories are present in each county in the state;
- (b) shall ensure that each repository:
- (i) renders a controlled substance placed in the repository non-retrievable and environmentally friendly, onsite; and
- (ii) is secure from tampering or unauthorized removal;
- (c) may require verification that:
- (i) a repository complies with Subsection (3)(b); and
- (ii) a home controlled substance disposal receptacle renders a controlled substance non-retrievable and environmentally friendly;
- (d) shall ensure that the program operates in accordance with Drug Enforcement
Administration rules; and
- (e) may publish, on the websites of the attorney general’s office and the department:
- (i) a list of the location of each repository in the state; and
- (ii) if home controlled substance disposal receptacles are used as part of the program, information on how to obtain a home controlled substance disposal receptacle.
- (4) The attorney general may, instead of, or in addition to, establishing a repository in a county, establish a process for residents of the county to obtain a home controlled substance disposal receptacle.
- (5) A state or local government entity, other than the attorney general’s office, the department, or a designee of the department, may not:
- (a) regulate the disposal of a controlled substance rendered non-retrievable in a repository or home controlled substance disposal receptacle differently, or more strictly, than disposal of non-hazardous household waste;
- (b) regulate or restrict the location of a repository or the distribution of a home controlled substance disposal receptacle; or
- (c) otherwise take action to regulate or interfere with administration of the program.
- (6) This section does not prohibit the disposal of a controlled substance:
- (a) in a receptacle that does not qualify as a repository if:
- (i) the receptacle is located on the premises of an entity authorized by Drug Enforcement Administration rules to accept a controlled substance for subsequent disposal; and
- (ii) the entity described in Subsection (6)(a)(i) ensures that the controlled substance is managed in a manner permitted by Drug Enforcement Administration rule; or
- (b) disposed at a facility that has received the approval required under Section 19-6-108.
- (a) in a receptacle that does not qualify as a repository if:
- (7) Unless otherwise agreed by the attorney general, an entity described in Subsection (3)(a) that permits the placement of a repository on property owned or controlled by the entity will dispose of a controlled substance placed in the repository after the controlled substance is rendered environmentally friendly.
Enacted by Chapter 443, 2020 General Session