SAN FRANCISCO — Over vigorous objections from the pharmaceutical industry, the Ninth Circuit seems likely to uphold an Alameda County drug disposal ordinance in a case that tests how far local governments can go in requiring manufacturers to take responsibility for the disposal of potentially harmful products.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments Friday on the constitutionality of a 2012 measure requiring prescription drugmakers to fund “take-back programs,” sparing the county the expense.
