The City of New York is acting to lower the pressure on two far from silent “epidemics” that continue to claim lives every minute. First, the rising numbers of fatalities due to overdose due to the use of opioids. And second, the presence of firearms, in some high-density public spaces.
To this end, the Municipal Council began hearings to move forward in approving bills that seek to prevent overdoses from the consumption of these narcotics, in very specific places, such as bars and nightclubs. Regarding gun violence, another rule is to make Times Square a designated area as 100% free of weapons.
Faced with these issues, of monstrous dimensions in the Big Apple, this Friday Mayor Eric Adams held an act to promote his absolute support for these legal initiatives. And he encouraged New Yorkers to actively participate in the hearings and provide feedback.
Bill, Intro 56-A, requires that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) ) help prevent opioid overdoses in nightlife businesses.
Opioids are defined as prescription opioid analgesics. This includes hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and morphine. As well as illegal opioids such as heroin, fentanyl and opium.
Anti-overdose shields
The new proposal requires that this vital entertainment industry, maintain in each of its establishments, five kits called ‘opioid antagonists’ (composed of the drug naloxone), accessible and free of charge for customers, in case of an overdose emergency.
This bill also requires DOHMH to offer free training to bar and nightclub staff on how to administer the nasal spray or injection. Naloxone is usually administered by medical personnel.
Only in 2021, the City’s emergency agencies had 8,485 “single administrations” of naloxone.
“We are the first in the country to open overdose prevention centers that have managed to prevent more than 480 overdoses since their opening . We can and must do more to address this public health crisis. That is what we are doing today by pushing the law 33-A. This bill is to save lives”, said the president.
A report from the DOHMH, from 2021, indicated that opioid deaths have risen steadily since 2010, but have spiked alarmingly in 2020.
The “crude rate” was higher among men, non-Hispanic whites, and 25 a 44 year old.
Such is the sharpness of this public health crisis that it is estimated that every seven hours a New Yorker is likely to die from a drug overdose, that is to say that more people die from the use of these narcotics than from homicides, suicides and traffic accidents.
According to research, it can be specified that neighborhoods in the Bronx and Harlem have the highest rates of deaths for this reason.
But precisely in the midst of the fight for the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 the alarms went off: only in the first trimester of 2021 , almost 600 people lost their lives due to excessive drug use, which means the highest fatality concentrated in three months since these statistics are tracked.
If an agreement is reached in the Municipal Chamber, this law will be in force from January 2023.
The other “epidemic”
The other legislation that the Mayor is pushing on various fronts is the intro 602-A, which amends the New York City administrative code to identify Times Square as a sensitive location area, where It is illegal to carry firearms.
This would impact even to licensed arms carriers, unless the law authorizes, in very particular cases, the contrary.
“Our city doesn’t just address opioid cases. We are working hard to end gun violence and stop the scourge of illegal weapons. Armed violence is a national nightmare that haunts the United States every day,” the municipal president remarked.
This rule, which must be approved in the coming weeks in the Council, has as a precedent that the Supreme Court annulled the long-standing requirements for carrying weapons in New York. The decision was made less than six weeks after New Yorkers were shot to death inside a supermarket in Buffalo.
“Today , we’re enshrining those restrictions in city law, protecting New Yorkers, tourists and everyone who visits our city. The safety and security of 8.8 million people is my primary responsibility,” he said.
In numbers: dying from an overdose in NYC
- 596 deaths in New York City in the first quarter of 2021, this represents the highest number of overdose deaths in a single quarter since reporting began in 2000.
- 24.5% increased overdose death rate for every 100,000 New York City residents at 2020, in comparison with 21,9 in 2019.
- 85% of overdose deaths in 2020 were linked to the use of opioids.
- 77% of overdose deaths in the 2020 for four years in a row, fentanyl has been the most common substance.
- 93% of overdoses were associated with heroin, the 81% for cocaine, the 80% of alcohol overdoses.
- 77% of overdoses caused by opioid analgesics and the 56 % of amphetamine overdoses.
- 38, 2 for each 100,000 Big Apple residents affected by overdose deaths were African American.
- 2019 to 2019 was the period when overdose death rates increased between white New Yorkers (,3 to 21,7 for each 100 000 residents) and Latino New Yorkers (27,1 to 33,6 for each 100,000 residents).
- 68, 7 for each 100,000 Residents of the South Bronx had the highest rate of death from drug use in the city.