Ashby Joins Colleagues, Advocates To Push Bills Battling Opioid And Fentanyl Crisis

Today, Sen. Jake Ashby (R,C-Castleton) joined his Senate Republican colleagues and recovery advocates in Albany to rally support for bills tackling an opioid epidemic fueled by the deadly scourge of fentanyl and other lethal synthetic analogs.  

“It’s difficult to grasp the scale of the loss. It’s impossible to grasp the sorrow of the family members and friends who are left behind in the wake of this epidemic. We have to act now,” said Ashby.

Ashby was joined by prominent local advocate Tim Murdick, who leads the opiate prevention group Nopiates.

“The bills we advocated for today are common sense initiatives Nopiates has been pushing for years. They will help galvanize our mission- to end this senseless epidemic and save lives,” said Murdick.

Ashby and the bipartisan group of elected officials pushed Chelsey’s Law, legislation which would charge reckless dealers who knowingly peddle overdose-inducing drugs with manslaughter.

Ashby also advocated for S.7763, a bill scheduling xylazine, a horse tranquilizer frequently mixed with fentanyl, as a schedule one narcotic. Xylazine ravages users’ skin with grisly wounds and cannot be reversed with overdose-reversal drugs like naloxone.

This session, Ashby is also sponsoring bills to strengthen criminal penalties against fentanyl dealers, (S.6208) require insurance companies to expand access to drug treatment (S.4842) and crack down on dealers who prey on vulnerable people at recovery meetings (S.6207A).

Ashby noted that the approach to battling the epidemic must be collaborative and comprehensive.

“This isn’t just one crisis. It’s a mental health crisis. It’s a public health crisis. It’s a public safety crisis. We have to engage everyone, and everyone has to be rowing in the same direction- treatment providers, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and government officials. We can’t normalize thousands and thousands of overdose deaths each year in New York State,” said Ashby.