OAKLAND — A groundbreaking law that forces the pharmaceutical industry to pay for collection and disposal of unused drugs passed its final court test Tuesday, and the Alameda County officials who originated the concept predicted it will now spread across the country. Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the industry’s challenge of Alameda County’s law, which is intended to keep drugs out of the bay, the groundwater basin and the hands of abusers. A federal appeals court had earlier upheld the ordinance.Peggy McQuaid, of Albany, dumps prescriptions into a collection bin during a prescription drug drop-off day event at the Albany Senior Center in Albany on Oct. 29, 2011. (Dean Coppola/Bay Area News Group) “This was the pharmaceutical industry really trying to put the genie back in the bottle,” said Art Shartsis, an outside attorney who defended a lawsuit filed by the pharmaceutical industry against Alameda County.
Supreme Court : Big Pharma must pay!
