Two pieces of legislation proposed by Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) to curtail heroin and opiate-related deaths have passed in the state Senate, according to Martins’ office.
The first gives parents the authority to place their children into substance-abuse treatment facilities for up to 60 days and grants the courts the ability to determine whether a child would require an additional 90 days if recommended by a treatment center, while the second regulates heroin and opiate education as part of a school drug prevention curriculum.
“Every community in the state is being affected by the growing heroin epidemic, and children are the No. 1 target. Heroin is so dangerous and deadly that children become addicts after using it just once,” Martins said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Giving parents new tools to get their children into treatment, before it’s too late, and increasing education about the dangers of this drug will help save lives and prevent tragedies in our communities.”
There have been 240 heroin-related deaths on Long Island in the last two years, Martins said.
According to the substance-abuse center Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, the number of families in treatment has increased from 100 a month in 2009 to more than 850 a month in 2014. The center estimates that 80 percent of that increase is due to heroin and opiate addiction.
Martins said at a press briefing on Friday that there are as many as 25 bills targeting heroin and opiate use reform – ranging from overdose treatment and law enforcement practices to insurance coverage and community awareness – pending in the state Legislature.
But Martins said that heroin reform begins with giving people the proper education on heroin and opiate addiction and promoting drug prevention before problems arise.
“If we are going to get a handle on this, we need to reach students,” Martins said, citing the state’s past success in instituting anti-smoking, anti-drinking and healthy lifestyle education initiatives into school curriculums.
Reach reporter Bill San Antonio by e-mail at bsanantonio@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x215 or on Twitter @b_sanantonio. Also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
