Murphy Named to State Task Force to Combat Heroin, Opioid Crisis
State Senator Terrence Murphy (R/Yorktown) was named by Governor Andrew Cuomo to a statewide heroin task force charged with ending the heroin and opioid crisis in New York. Murphy already serves as a co-chairman of the New York State Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, a body he has served on since his time as a Yorktown Councilman.
Cuomo announced the new statewide task force last week, comprised of a broad coalition of experts in healthcare, drug policy, advocacy, education, and parents and New Yorkers in recovery. It will build on the state’s previous efforts and use their expertise and experience to develop a comprehensive action plan to combat the state’s opioid epidemic. Members of the task force will hold public listening sessions across New York to inform their recommendations.
“Heroin and prescription drug abuse has claimed far too many lives in New York and across the country,” Murphy said.” It’s time we put a stop to this epidemic and prevent more needless tragedies from occurring. Launching this task force is the right move, and I look forward to joining Governor Cuomo’s efforts to fight dangerous opioid abuse in New York State.”
“Opioid addiction is a national epidemic that continues to plague families in communities across New York – and the state has been taking aggressive action to tackle this crisis head on,” Cuomo said. “The Heroin Task Force will take these efforts to the next level with a comprehensive action plan developed by a diverse coalition of experts. We will use the task force’s recommendations to implement smart solutions that will protect public health, enhance safety in communities statewide and save the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers.”
In March, new regulations took effect that require all prescriptions to be transmitted electronically from the prescriber directly to the pharmacy. The measure is part of New York’s comprehensive I-STOP law, first implemented in 2012, designed to curb prescription drug abuse across the state.
Through I-STOP, New York requires prescribers to consult the Prescription Monitoring Program Registry when writing prescriptions for Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances. The Registry provides practitioners with direct, secure access to view dispensed controlled substance prescription histories for patients in real time. The data is further used to identify potential sources of prescription drug diversion or abuse, including prescription fraud. In April, the state began sharing Prescription Monitoring Program data with New Jersey to further prevent the stockpiling and resale of dangerous controlled substances.
As of 2015, I-STOP has led to a 90 percent decrease in the number of “doctor shoppers” or patients who visit multiple prescribers and pharmacies to obtain controlled substances within a three-month time period.
As overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in New York, the state has also led an aggressive effort to make naloxone available without a prescription at approved pharmacies. In March, the state DOH, in collaboration with the Harm Reduction Coalition, issued standing medical orders to the more than 750 independent pharmacies outside New York City, allowing these pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription. The action built on the state’s agreement with CVS and Walgreens/Duane Reade in January 2016, enabling more than 900 of these pharmacies to make naloxone available without a prescription statewide.
To date, New York has trained thousands of first responders and community members to recognize and respond to overdoses. Since 2006, the state’s community overdose prevention and naloxone distribution program has enrolled more than 225 registered programs, which have trained more than 112,000 individuals. As a result, more than 3,500 overdose reversals have been documented, with over 1,500 lives saved in 2015 alone.
Susan Salomone, Executive Director of Drug Crisis in Our Backyard and a parent who lost her son to opioid use, said, “I am honored to be a part of this important work and commend Governor Cuomo for leading the way in combatting this epidemic. As parent who has been impacted by addiction, it is my hope that the Task Force will provide New Yorkers with a roadmap to overcome substance abuse and help those in recovery lead long, healthy and happy lives. I look forward to working together to create a long-term plan that will help protect New York’s children and families.”
Over the past decade, admissions for heroin and prescription opioid-abuse treatment in New York have increased 40 percent. Five percent of students in grades seven through twelve have reported using a prescription pain reliever non-medically.
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