Contrary to popular misconception, the Jewish community has struggled with addiction just as much as every other community. As Chairman of the Assembly’s Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee, I have heard too many tragic stories. One community teen is addicted to painkillers he first found in his parent’s medicine cabinet, another young man habitually “shul hops” to take advantage of the whiskey at his community’s kiddushim.
There is no single person on the planet immune to the potential ravages of addiction, and with heroin abuse again on the rise, we must wage war against this plague on all fronts, and that includes the fight for funding in order to save countless lives.
Between 2000 and 2012, overdose deaths in New York State related to prescription painkillers increased an astounding 233%, while heroin-related overdose deaths throughout New York City increased 84% between 2010 and 2012, after having been on the decline for four years.
With this disquieting crisis gaining more and more traction, the budget for the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) has remained flat for several years. There is actually no funding directly related to opiate abuse in the 2014-1015 executive budget. And while there is reinvestment in this budget, there are little details as to how it will be distributed or what kind of services it will provide. The Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is asking for $5 million to expand access to and capacity for treatment of opiate abuse, another $5 million to expand school-based prevention programs, and $5 million to expand community-based detoxification services.
In order to generate some of the necessary funding, I sponsored legislation that would establish the Community Chemical Dependency Services Expansion Program. This bill would direct OASAS to use funds attributable to reductions in expenditures for medically managed chemical dependence detoxification to provide grants to fund the program. The program would then distribute these grants to community-based providers to help struggling addicts and their families.
During my 13 years in the Assembly, I have consistently fought for and secured millions in grants and capital funds for local organizations that could help those struggling with addiction, including the SAFE Foundation, which provides clients and families with counseling, and support in dealing with addiction. Led by Executive Director Ike Dweck, SAFE provides outpatient treatment services and prevention programming to private schools reaching 3,000 students in addition to programs for residents from the entire community.
Another crucial piece of legislation I co-sponsored would increase the availability of Naloxone, sometimes referred to as the drug overdose antidote. When administered in a timely fashion, Naloxone counteracts the life threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system caused by an opioid or heroin overdose.
In 2005, the state authorized non-medical persons to administer Naloxone to an individual in order to prevent an opioid or heroin overdose from becoming fatal. Currently, parents and family members of addicts are being turned away from Naloxone training programs or are attending the programs and not receiving Naloxone due to the shortage of prescribers participating in such programs. Due to the increase of opioid abuse, expanded access to Naloxone has become a necessary priority to save lives.
Under this legislation, one prescriber would be able to issue a non-patient specific order to numerous programs, allowing for increased access. This legislation will give the person who is likely to discover an overdose victim the ability to save his/her life, a life that could otherwise be lost if the victim has to wait for an EMT to arrive. Without treatment readily available, the public health costs will be severe for New York State—and the human toll even more so.
A solution to our State’s addiction crisis won’t happen overnight. Until such time that we get the funding we need to be vigilant. We must commit ourselves to being there for friends, family and loved ones who need our support. Only then can we begin to be sure that the necessary prevention and treatment programs are in place to stem this problem.
By Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, represents Brooklyn’s 45th Assembly District.
