State Senate Lawmakers Applaud Federal Bill Fighting Heroin Addiction

Republican state senators are cheering a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate that is aimed at combatting heroin and opioid addiction introduced this week.

The measure, backed by New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona would limit opioid prescriptions for acute pain to seven days — a proposal that had been proposed by the state Senate’s heroin task force. The measure was approved and signed into law in New York last year.

“We applaud the bipartisan actions of Senator Gillibrand and Senator McCain. The New York State Senate has been, and remains, leading the effort to curb the devastating scourge the heroin epidemic has caused in nearly every community within the Empire State,” said Sens. George Amedore, Terrence Murphy, Robert Ortt and Fred Akshar in a joint statement. “The seven day limit of opioid prescriptions for acute pain was a cornerstone piece of legislation passed into law last year.”

The lawmakers added the issue shouldn’t be a partisan one when it comes to heroin addiction.

“We offer our strong support and partnership to help advance this important initiative on the federal level,” they said.