Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill July 10 requiring chain pharmacies to take back unused drugs they sell. Ulster County Executive Michael Hein believes that when the law goes into effect in January, there will be “less opioids on the street.... It’s real." “The Drug Take Back Act” also requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay for the program. While Hein says the law will affect the opioid issue, the environmental organization Riverkeeper believes the law will help the state’s waterways. “The data Riverkeeper has collected with the (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and Cornell University show large numbers of pharmaceuticals in the Hudson [River]. Giving people convenient access to take-back options will help prevent flushing of unused medications, eliminating one source of drugs in our waters,” said Dan Shapley, director of Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Program. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.