
For more than a decade, there have been numerous failed attempts to establish a prescription drug repository in Illinois that would allow the donation of unused, unopened prescription drugs to entities such as free clinics. That ended on January 1, 2022, the effective date of the I-DROP (Illinois Drug Reuse Opportunity Program) Act, which Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed on August 16, 2021.
This success was actually spurred and cultivated by the actions of members of the Foxglove Alliance (FGA). It was the Hektoen Institute that initially contacted SIRUM, a northern California based not-for-profit that operates prescription drug repository programs in multiple states, as part of some initial due diligence. Those two entities enlisted the help of interested individuals and institutions that formed what is now known as the I-DROP Coalition. Two of the keys to passing I-DROP were the advocacy efforts of the Illinois Association of Free & Charitable Clinics and consul from IOMC Fellow Janice Feinberg, a pharmacist and an attorney. The primary Coalition members are: