Put OD kits in schools – pol
AMID REPORTS of rising prescription drug abuse by city students, new legislation would force public schools to stock anti-overdose kits.
City Councilman Rafael Salamanca will introduce a bill Thursday that would compel city schools to keep drugs that can counter opioid overdoses.
Salamanca (D-Bronx) said it’s high time the public schools start supplying overdose kits that can save lives.
“We’ve seen too many overdoses related to opioids this year, and overdose numbers continue to rise alarmingly amongst teens and young persons in particular,” Salamanca said.
“This is a tragic problem, and any solution we have to help prevent overdoses, particularly through the use of naloxone, should be implemented,” he added.
Naloxone can reverse opioid overdoses and may be delivered with a cheap, easily used nasal spray.
Many districts nationwide, including some upstate, already stock kits equipped with naloxone, the generic version of the brand-name drug Narcan.
Salamanca’s bill would require all of the city’s 1,800 schools to have on-site access to the drug. He intends to bring it for a vote by the Council before January.
The NYPD is also considering a plan to outfit school safety agents with Narcan.
Interest in the antiopioid drug comes amid a spike in overdose deaths across the city.
There were 1,374 accidental drug overdoses in the city in 2016 — up from 937 in 2015, a 47% jump, according to data released by the Health Department.
But Education Department officials said there hasn’t been a known case of an opioid overdose in a public school since at least 2005, when the city started keeping records.
Department of Health stats show teens account for just a tiny fraction of all city overdoses. But treatment centers and parents say they’re seeing more use by city students. Mayor de Blasio spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie said the city sees no need to stock the kits at schools.
“The safety and well-being of our students always come first, and we look forward to reviewing this bill,” Lapeyrolerie said.