In response to the ongoing opioid crisis and the tragedy of Paige Gibbons, a 19-year-old college freshman from New York who died of a fentanyl overdose after taking just one pill, Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden) urges his colleagues to take action on critical proposals he has both authored and supported, which are aimed at reducing overdose deaths and improving drug identification in hospitals. The measures, which include a proposal to increase the availability of higher-dose opioid reversal agents (A.8075D) and the “Identify Dangerous Drugs Act” (A.7746), seek to address the growing threat of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.

Maher’s support of (A.08075), which was passed in the Assembly but not the Senate, aims to amend the mental hygiene law and the public health law to allow for the use of higher milligram doses of opioid reversal agents. This change is necessary to combat the increasing potency of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

“The public health crisis has evolved and continues to grow significantly, transitioning from prescription drugs to heroin and now predominantly to fentanyl and other analogs,” said Maher. “As synthetic opioids present a formidable challenge due to their unparalleled potency, it is essential that all communities in New York have access to every life-saving FDA-approved opioid reversal agent. We also must pass the ‘Identify Dangerous Drugs Act’ to better treat overdose patients and address the complexities of this issue.”

The “Identify Dangerous Drugs Act” will commission a comprehensive study on overdose patients receiving treatment in New York hospitals. The aim is to address the incapability of current hospital drug testing to identify “novel psychoactive substances.” Hundreds of new deadly synthetic drugs have been introduced onto the streets of New York since 2009, yet without accurate identification, patients cannot be properly diagnosed or treated.

“This young woman losing her life is devastating, and what makes this even more tragic is the reality that overdoses like this happen every single day in New York,” continued Maher. “The Department of Health’s standing order for opioid reversal medications hasn’t changed since this young woman lost her life in 2022, but over that same time frame, nearly 8,000 New Yorker’s have died from fentanyl overdoses and poisonings. Enough is enough. We must take action either during a special session of the Legislature or early on in the next legislative session.”

The numbers in New York are striking, with synthetic opioid-related overdoses, mainly due to fentanyl, rising from just 18 cases in 1999 to a staggering 4,950 in 2022. These legislative efforts from Maher and his colleagues are critical steps towards reversing this trend and saving lives.