Amd §35, Judy L; amd §§32.05 & 32.09, Ment Hyg L; amd §§3302, 3331, 3350, 3351 & 3372, Art 33 Title V Title
Head, Pub Health L; amd §396-h, County L; amd §121, Gen City L
Replaces the words addict or addicts with the words person with substance use disorder or a variation thereof.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2398
SPONSOR: Gallagher TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the judiciary law, the mental hygiene law, the public
health law, the county law, and the general city law, in relation to
replacing the words addict and addicts with the words person with
substance use disorder or variation thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
The purpose of this bill is to replace the word "addict" and "addicts"
with modern and humane language.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS::
Sections one through four and six through twelve replace the word
"addict" and "narcotic addict" with "person with substance use disorder"
and variations thereof.
Section five modifies the definition of the term "addict" in statute and
replaces the term "addict" with "person with substance use disorder."
Section thirteen is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The harsh and pejorative term "addict" was entered into New York's laws
in 1972 to refer to people suffering primarily from opioid use disorder
as an epidemic of heroin dependence swept through poor communities
across the United States. In 1973, a year later, the Rockefeller Drug
Laws would be enacted, creating a minimum sentence of 15 years to life
in prison for possession of two ounces or more of opiates. Richard Nixon
was president and had declared a counterproductive and punitive "war on
drugs." As a former Nixon aide said, "We knew we couldn't make it ille-
gal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to
associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then
criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could
arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and
vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were
lying about the drugs? Of course we did." Instead of recognizing that
opioid use disorder was a public health crisis, New York's legislators
and elected leaders at that time chose the same path: vilifying
substance use disorder, associating it with moral degeneracy, and enact-
ing harsh laws to punish people suffering from addic tion. Since then,
the public understanding of substance use disorder has evolved. While we
also pursue legislation to provide medical resources and assistance to
people suffering from substance use disorder, fight pharmaceutical
corporations that profit from manufacturing addiction to opiates, and
eliminate the harsh criminal penalties for people suffering from
substance use disorder, we should also update the outdated and punitive
terminology of our laws.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
A896 (2023) - died in committee.
A8896 (2022) - died in committee.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill is effective immediately.
