Enacts the Fentanyl Fathers and Mothers Act

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Republican4
• Democratic1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Steve Rhoads says this is needed

It has sadly been well established in New York State that parents are losing their children at alarming rates due to abuses of fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids and counterfeit pills. This bill seeks to provide a comprehensive educational requirement for our young adults to learn about the potentially fatal consequences of such substances, thus saving the lives of countless New Yorkers. Unfortunately, it has become all too common that drug overdose deaths are the result of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Just in 2022, "synthetic opioids other than methadone (SOOTM), predominantly illicitly manufactured fentanyl, were present in 92.3 percent of all overdose deaths involving any opioid." Many times, deadly cocktails involving opioids are made, whether on the streets or exchanged via social media (according to PBS.org) and result in deadly outcomes. Because of these illicit mixes being made, or counterfeit pills exchanged, "synthetic opioids like fentanyl and tramadol-often mixed with other drugs-account for much of the increase in drug overdose fatalities in New York, grow- ing from 11 percent of all drug overdose deaths in 2010 to 78 percent in 2021." Often, young adults don't realize what the substances are that that they are ingesting. Dealers often advertise the drug falsely, only for an awful outcome to occur. Our young people may not realize that a fake pill mixed with fentanyl can be deadly, by the amount "small as the tip of a pencil". This happened to Lucienne "Coco" Konar, a 17-year-old girl from outside of New York City, in 2022. She thought she had purchased Percocet from a dealer on Instagram only to be found dead a day later. Her mother, Julianna Arnold, has since called for stronger laws to prevent deaths like the one that happened to her daughter (PBS.org). New York State has an obligation to do all that it can to prevent these deaths and to save parents, families, and communities from further hear- tache and gut-wrenching loss. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet. 42% of pills tested for fentanyl contained at least 2 mg of fentanyl, considered a potentially lethal dose. Accord- ing to the CDC, synthetic opioids (like fentanyl) are the primary driver of overdose deaths in the United States. Comparison between the 12 months-ending January 31, 2020, and the 12 months-ending January 31, 2021, during this period: overdose deaths involving opioids rose 38.1 percent; and overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) rose 55.6 percent and appear to be the primary driver of the increase in total drug overdose deaths. According to the CDC, average monthly overdose deaths among young people aged 10-19 have increased by 109% from 2019 to 2021. This shocking jump in numbers demands a statewide response. We cannot let stories like Coco's become the norm. We must educate our children and protect them from the onslaught of fatal substances being pushed into our communities illegally. To protect our young people and preserve our families and communities, we must act and pass the "Fentanyl Fathers and Mothers Act".

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.