The opioid epidemic continues to rage with the latest New York State Department of Health report released in January showing that opioid overdose deaths totaled more than 4,700 people in 2021, a 14% increase from 2020.
More than 100,000 people die each year from opioid overdoses in the United States.
“The biggest thing now, and say maybe 20, 30 years ago, is people who disconnect from treatment or decide to leave, or are asked to leave because they don’t follow the plan or the rules, they die. now” , Robert Kent told Capital Tonight. “Street drugs will kill them. They are absolutely lethal.”
Kent is president of Kent Strategic Advisors LLC. He recently stepped down as general counsel for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Prior to that, he served as General Counsel for the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).
The sky-high death rate is the main reason advocates were in Albany Tuesday, pushing for funding for overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in the state. The rally is the second of a one-two punch, coming just days after 73 advocacy organizations called on Democrats to back approval of supervised injection sites to stem a sharp rise in overdose deaths .
Advocates see the issue as a matter of urgency.
“We are losing more New Yorkers to overdose deaths than ever before. Criminalization and stigmatization will not help us save lives,” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera told Capital Tonight in an emailed statement. Rivera is the sponsor of the “Safer Consumer Services Act.” ” that would authorize overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in communities across the state.
There are currently only two OPCs operating in New York City at the sites of former syringe service programs. They were opened by the organization OnPoint NYC in 2021.
“The two centers currently operating in New York City have saved nearly 900 lives exclusively with private funding,” Rivera said. “The governor. Hochul has said on many occasions that he is serious about ending the overdose epidemic, so I hope he will follow the recommendations set forth by the Opioid Clearance Fund Board and work with us to lead settlement funds to evidence-based harm reduction programs in the most affected countries. neighborhoods We have the tools, we just need political will.”
The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, or OASAS, the state entity charged with spending the settlement money, sent a letter to the Settlement Fund Advisory Board a few months ago saying that state money could not be spent on OPC due to legal issues. .
“[The overdose prevention centers] they’re not fully accepted because there are legal issues,” Kent explained. “There’s a lawsuit that happened in Philadelphia that says engaging in these kinds of activities violates, and those aren’t my words, they’re others,” the federal Controlled Substances Act’s crack house statute.”
During the Trump administration, an organization called Safe House in Philadelphia announced that it would open an overdose prevention center. The US attorney at the time sued them.
“Ultimately, the court decision said, opening these types of facilities violates the federal Controlled Substances Act, which contains the ‘crack house’ provisions,” Kent said. “You cannot operate a facility where illegal drug use will occur.”
While overdose prevention centers may be new to the US, they’ve been around for years in more than 10 countries, including Canada, and data shows they work.
“Data has shown that supervised consumption facilities reduce harm to people who use drugs (for example, rates of infectious disease transmission) and prevent fatal overdoses. There have never been any recorded deaths at facilities that provide these services.”
Kent argues that calling facilities overdose prevention centers may be doing them a disservice.
“What gets lost in all the talk about harm reduction is that these places … are really complete health centers. They give people places to shower, a place to eat,” Kent said. “They have medical staff to provide people with whatever, wound care or other types of health care.”
Overdose prevention centers also offer assistance to those who need help navigating social services or law enforcement.
“I would say that now that I’m a private citizen, with so many people dying … we have to be doing everything we can to keep people alive. And New York is not alone. Rhode Island passed a law and they’re going to open facilities and they’ll use settlement funds to support the work. I think there are ways to do that. I think there’s evidence that these facilities save lives and make people healthier. By doing that, you save funding of government and, more importantly, save people’s lives,” Kent said.
