NY Senate OKs Package Of Bills Aimed At Opioid, Heroin Use

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Senate has passed a new collection of bills aimed at battling the state's increasing rates of opioid and heroin abuse.

The Senate on Monday passed eight bills to staunch heroin, opioid and synthetic drug use that lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have declared a statewide crisis.

Six measures target the use of synthetic or designer drug mixers such as fentanyl that escape criminality in current laws.

Two more bills would promote coordination among health-care providers and would notify prescribers when an individual has suffered an overdose.

New York officials say the number of opioid deaths in 2015 doubled compared to the number in 2010. The number of heroin-involved deaths in 2015 was five times the number in 2010.