New York State Senator Pete Harckham spoke on the Senate floor on Monday, March 8, 2020, in support of his legislation (S.2976) to ensure that opioid patients are provided with educational materials and overdose reversal medication upon their release from treatment facilities. The bill has passed in the State Senate.

The bill requires that individuals diagnosed with an opioid use disorder when released from an inpatient facility operated or licensed by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) be given education materials relating to opioid overdose that conforms to the Department of Health or federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Guidelines for opioid education.

The treatment facility or hospital also will provide patients as they leave the facility with two doses of an opioid antagonist and a prescription for an opioid antagonist. The legislation also covers inmates being treated for Substance Use Disorder who are being released from a correctional facility.