BILL NUMBER: S5900A
SPONSOR: LANZA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the distribution
in counties with the most prevalent prescription substance use disorder
of educational materials regarding the misuse of and addiction to
prescription drugs
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to help to prevent misuse or abuse of
prescription drugs.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amends 19.09 of mental hygiene law by requiring the commissioner of the
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services in consultation with
the Department of Health to create or utilize existing educational mate-
rials and make them available to pharmacists who may distribute them
with any prescribed controlled substance. Such materials shall include
information regarding the dangers of misuse and the potential for
addiction to prescription drugs, treatment resources available, and the
proper way to dispose of unused prescription drugs. The bill would also
require the Commissioner to utilize data that is available to the office
in order to identify the counties in New York State where prescription
opioid abuse is most prevalent. At the discretion of the commissioner,
in collaboration with the department of health, pharmacists may be noti-
fied about the prevalence of opioid abuse in the county where the phar-
macists are located, and strongly encourage the pharmacy to utilize the
educational materials created by this bill.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Alters language regarding prescription drugs to be more in line with
existing statute and removes reference to a specific source of data
previously required to be considered.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) taken in
2009 showed that nearly one-third of people age 12 and over that used
drugs for the first time began by using a prescription drug non-medical-
ly. The same survey found that over 70 percent of people who abused
prescription pain relievers obtained them from friends or relatives.
Additionally, it was shown in the latest Monitoring the Future Study,
the Nation's largest survey of drug use among young people administered
by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), of the drugs most often
abused, prescription drugs ranked second behind marijuana. A contribut-
ing factor to the rise of prescription drug abuse has been the common
misperception that prescription medications are less dangerous than
illegal drugs because they are FDA-approved. Many well-meaning parents
do not understand the risks associated with giving prescribed medication
to a teenager or another family member for whom the medication was not
prescribed, or, they are not aware that youth are abusing prescription
drugs at all; thus, they frequently leave unused prescription drugs in
open medicine cabinets. In 2011 the Office of National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP) stated in its Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan
that a key factor to deterring prescription drug abuse is educating the
youth and their parents about the dangers of misuse and abuse of
prescription drugs. The ONDCP also recommended that organizations such
as local anti-drug coalitions and pharmacies should promote and dissem-
inate public educational materials in order to increase awareness of
prescription drug misuse and abuse, and how to safely dispose of unused
prescription medications. In 2012, the New York State Department of
Health (DOH) in partnership with the Office of Alco- holism and
Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the Pharmacists Society of the
State of New York (PSSNY) issued a letter to pharmacies in New York
emphasizing the vital role pharmacists play in this goal. Their position
gives them a unique opportunity to increase the knowledge of their
customers regarding the consequences that result from the misuse of
prescription medication. This bill would help to prevent the misuse or
abuse of prescription drugs by providing pharmacists with educational
materials that they may distribute to their customers. Such materials
would provide information on the dangers of misuse, and the potential
for addiction to prescription medications. They would also provide
information on how to access treatment services and safely dispose of
unused prescription medications.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2025: 5.5900 - Passed Senate 2024: 5.4321 - Passed Senate 2023: S.4321 -
3rd Reading Calendar 2022: 5.5566 - 3" Reading Calendar 2021: 5.5566 -
Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 2020: S.379- Committed to Rules/
A.3348 - Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 2019: 5.379 Committed to
Rules/ A.3348 - Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse 2018: S.4326 -
Third Reading Calendar/A.3074-A - Referred to Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
2017: S.4326 - Third Reading Calendar/A.3074-A - Referred to Alcoholism
& Drug Abuse 2016: 5.8080 - Referred to Rules/A.881 - Passed Assembly
2015: A.881 - Referred to Alcoholism & Drug Abuse 2014: 5.6725 -
Reported to Finance/A.7837 - Passed Assembly
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Undetermined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become law.

Statutes affected:
S5900: 19.09 mental hygiene law
S5900A: 19.09 mental hygiene law