ALBANY — Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, R-Clarence, urged the Assembly Majority today to tackle the heroin and opioid epidemic as an urgent “end of session” priority.
Citing statistics that show overdose deaths doubled in Erie County last year, Corwin said the Assembly cannot leave town without taking concrete action on her conference’s HELP Plan, or a similar package to save lives, reduce the rate of addiction, and support families and law enforcement dealing with the epidemic. The New York State Senate passed 22 heroin-related bills in an effort to stem the epidemic.
“Heroin and opioids are destroying lives and our communities. These are not drugs that are isolated in the City of Buffalo. They are in our schools and neighborhoods. As a mother, this is terrifying to me but as a legislator, I am more determined to get Albany to address the epidemic this year,” said Corwin, who announced the findings of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Heroin Addiction & Community Response earlier this year.
Corwin said part of the response must be informing more New Yorkers about the accessibility of heroin and other deadly opioids in suburban and rural communities. She believes the second component must be enacting meaningful legislation that helps prevent addiction, ensures addicts get the help they need, and provides support for all those impacted by drug addiction. These are the goals of the HELP Plan, which was created as a result of the task force’s statewide tour of public hearings in 2015.
“Our work prompted the Senate and governor to take action by creating their own task forces and I believe their findings will be consistent with ours: the heroin and opioid epidemic needs to be addressed now. In fact, we appropriated $166 million in this year’s budget to tackle the epidemic and each task force’s report will help us decide how best to spend that money to save lives and combat heroin and opioid addiction. Only one body has yet to take any action and that’s the Assembly Majority. It’s unacceptable and I hope they take swift action in the remaining dozen or so days of session. Lives are literally at stake in Western New York and all across our state,” said Corwin.
Corwin would like the public to know they can get 24-hour assistance with addiction at www.oasas.ny.gov/accesshelp or by calling the New York State HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369).
