State Cracks Down on Raging Opioid Crisis with New Heroin Task Force

Efforts to crack down on the raging opioid epidemic intensified Tuesday as a new statewide heroin task force was announced.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the launch, aimed at quelling the rapidly escalating heroin and opioid crisis in New York.

The group, comprising a coalition of experts in healthcare, drug policy, advocacy, education, and parents and individual in recovery, will build on the state’s previous efforts to develop a comprehensive action plan to combat the state’s opioid epidemic, Cuomo said.

Members of the task force will hold public listening sessions across New York to help guide the process.

“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 in a release. “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.”

Since 2014, Cuomo has implemented a series of reforms aimed at fighting back against heroin and opioid addiction, including signing the "Combat Heroin" legislation; expanding insurance coverage for substance use disorder treatment; increasing access and enhancing treatment capacity across the state, including a major expansion of opioid treatment services; implementing new and expanded recovery services; and launching a public awareness and prevention campaign to inform New Yorkers about the dangers of opioid use, a release sent out Tuesday said.

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 reign in prescription drug abuse across the state, Cuomo said.

Through I-STOP, New York requires prescribers to consult a 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.

In addition, the data is further used to identify potential sources of prescription drug diversion or abuse, including prescription fraud, Cuomo said.

In April, the state began sharing the prescription monitoring program data with New Jersey to further prevent the stockpiling and resale of dangerous controlled substances.

So far, 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, with Suffolk County reporting the highest number of heroin overdoses, the state has led an effort to make naloxone available without a prescription at approved pharmacies.

Also, New York has trained thousands of first responders and community members to recognize and respond to overdoses with Narcan.

As a result, Cuomo said, more than 3,500 overdose reversals have been documented, with over 1,500 lives saved in 2015.

The task force will identify ways to expand awareness of heroin and opioid addiction, enhance statewide prevention efforts; increase access to treatment, and improve support for those in recovery.

Locally, Kym Laube executive director of HUGS, Inc. in Westhampton Beach was chosen to serve on the task force.

"I am thrilled and honored to be appointed by Governor Cuomo to serve on this task force," said Laube, who has long advocated for prevention and awareness on the East End.

“New Yorkers battling addiction need to know we are here with open arms to help them — to access treatment and support their recovery. I thank the governor for his continued leadership in appointing this task force. I believe that their work will add to our efforts to attack this epidemic," said NYS OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez.

On Monday, Gonzalez-Sanchez traveled from Albany to Riverhead to kick off the latest New York State Talk2Prevent initiative, urging parents to talk to their kids about addiction, especially before prom and graduation.