CEO Jason Sundby of Deterra Responds to President Biden's State of the Union Address on Mental Health, Addiction Funding

MINNEAPOLIS, March 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- President Biden's "State of the Union" address before Congress this week — a speech that announced a $41 billion investment in combatting drug addiction — was praised today by Jason Sundby, Chairman and CEO of Verde Environmental Technologies, Inc., the maker of the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System.

But in a powerful statement, Sundby also called upon federal and state public officials, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and other leaders to address a priority that was hardly mentioned in the Administration's announcement — a focus on prevention, stopping opioid misuse before it begins.

Highlighting the devastating toll of the opioid epidemic, Sundby noted that 70% of opioids prescribed for post-surgical use go unused — creating a potentially lethal hazard in millions of American medicine cabinets.

The CEO urged governmental, healthcare, business and non-profit leaders to take three immediate steps that go beyond what was proposed by the Biden Administration this week. Sundby called for:

• Mandatory patient education by physicians and pharmacists, whenever opioids are prescribed.
• Co-dispensing at-home drug deactivation and disposal options with every opioid prescription, and
• Making funds more readily available for at-home drug deactivation and disposal options, along with other evidence-based prevention tools.

"As a company working in the trenches with law enforcement, federal and state government officials, healthcare providers, anti-drug programs, and concerned families to remove excess pills from circulation with environmentally safe, effective, at-home drug deactivation and disposal, we know the power of prevention," Sundby said. "We cannot turn the tide on the opioid epidemic without it."

Mr. Sundby's full statement on President Biden's "State of the Union" address is available here. More information about the Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System can be found at deterrasystem.com.

About Verde Environmental Technologies, Inc.: Minneapolis-based Verde Technologies, is a privately owned company committed to developing research-based, scientifically proven solutions to reduce drug abuse, misuse and negative environmental impact. The patented Deterra® Drug Deactivation and Disposal System is powered by proprietary activated carbon, which permanently deactivates drugs. Deterra is highly effective in adsorbing and firmly binding drugs, rendering them inert, unavailable for misuse and safe for the environment.

SOURCE Verde Technologies