Assemblyman McDonald selected to opioid policy fellows program
The program focuses on health policies and program being addressed throughout the country
ALBANY, N.Y. >> NewYork State Assemblyman John McDonald III has been selected as a 2019 Opioid Policy Fellow for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Opioid Policy Fellows Program focuses on health policies and programs being addressed throughout the country, among them being the strengthening of prescription drug monitoring programs, developing prescribing guidelines, increasing naloxone access, and supporting access to treatment and recovery services.
“I was honored that Speaker [Carl] Heastie nominated me to this select group of legislators throughout the country and in the same token, it makes perfect sense being a pharmacist and the only practicing health care professional in the state legislature I bring a skill set to the table not only as a healthcare practitioner but also as a former mayor,” McDonald noted of being one of 20 legislators chosen across the country for the program.
“So I understand it from a healthcare policy and I also understand it from the impact that addiction places on communities as well,” McDonald said of how he believes his experience and mul-
tiple perspectives will help him in this role.
In serving in this program, McDonald, D-Cohoes, hopes to not only add his expertise but also to bring back ideas from other experts around the country.
“We’ve taken some great strides here in New York State and I want to share those concepts and ideas with my colleagues across the country and in the same token help to bring back information that will be helpful for residents not only in my district, but also in the state of New York because the crisis as much as we’re taking aggressive steps we still have a long way to go,” McDonald said of the learning opportunity.
McDonald is also looking to change the perception of how society views addiction, shifting from a law enforcement issue to one of treating a disease.
“What I hope to do with my colleagues it to make sure people know that this is a disease. Too many people look at it from a criminal justice perspective and I get that but this is a disease and it needs to be managed just like we manage diabetes and hypertension. So I think those types of discussions and finding out what kind of barriers are still out there and how we can remove those barriers and have the public involved in those decisions is important,” McDonald said of shifting attitudes around how to handle the issue.
“I know how opioids work in the body and how they have an impact on individuals and their families and I think that’s important because not many legislators are going to bring that skill set to the table,” McDonald added.
From a policy standpoint, McDonald would like to see more resources placed toward helping people recover from addiction.
“As we change the approach to working with individuals with addiction, we’re going to realize that at some point and Albany County is a great example, their jails are half full now, that’s a good thing that means more people are living in the communities and can we take more funds used for incarceration and re-purpose them and reuse them for proper resources to help with treatment. To help lead people to live a life of recovery that’s the question and that’s the goal,” McDonald said.