NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5200B
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting
"Matthew's law"
PURPOSE:
To establish "Matthew's Law", requires dispensing of fentanyl testing
supplies.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 titles the bill "Matthew's Law"
Section 2 amends the public health law by adding a new section to 3309-b
to authorize pharmacists to dispense drug adulterant testing supplies.
Testing supplies shall be stored at a licensed pharmacy, hospital, clin-
ic, or other health care facility in a manner that limits access to
health care professionals. Retail stores containing pharmacies may
dispense testing supplies from the pharmacy department only. No quantity
of drug adulterant testing supplies greater than necessary to conduct
five assays of substances shall be dispensed in a single transaction.
Section 2 states the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
"Matthew's Law" honors the memory of Matthew Horan, a Westchester resi-
dent with substance use disorder who died at age 30 of a fentanyl over-
dose in November of 2020. His sister, Kailey Horan, has requested New
York find a way to make fentanyl testing kits accessible to procure
after her brother ingested the drug unknowingly.
In 2021, fentanyl overdoses made up 87.8% of all opioid deaths.(1) Just
two milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a lethal dose- the equiv-
alent to 10 grains of kitchen salt.
Fentanyl overdose is now the leading cause of death among Americans aged
18 to 45- ahead of suicide, COVID-19, and car accidents, according to
data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 2021, for the first time in history, the Biden administration allowed
federal grant money to be used to purchase fentanyl test strips. We must
be doing everything we can to follow suit in destigmatizing testing
strips.
New York made impactful change by issuing a standing order for pharma-
cies to carry Narcan, a life saving tool that reverses potentially
lethal overdoses from opioids. By providing both Narcan and testing
strips we can give New Yorkers struggling with addiction all of the
resources they need to stop drug overdose deaths.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: 59616 - Died in Rules
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/dr
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.
(1) HTTPS://USAFACTS.ORG/ARTICLES/ARE-FENTANYL-OVERDOSE-DEATHS-
RISING-IN-THE-DSPUTMSOUEtCE=DYNAMICCITMMEDIUM=RSS
2 HTTPS://WWW.CDC.GOV/STOPOVERDOSE/FENTANYL/FENTANYL-TEST-STRIPS.HTML
3 HTTPS://WWW.CFSRE.ORG/IMAGES/CONTENT/REPORTS/DRUG CHECKING/ CFSRE
XYLAZINE REPORT-REV-1-18-23.PDF
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5200--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD, BENDETT, McDONOUGH, FAHY, FORREST --
read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting
"Matthew's law"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 "Matthew's law".
3 § 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 3309-b
4 to read as follows:
5 § 3309-b. Dispensing of drug adulterant testing supplies. 1. As used
6 in this section:
7 (a) "Drug adulterant testing supplies" means any drug testing product
8 that is used to determine whether a controlled substance contains fenta-
9 nyl or a fentanyl analog.
10 (b) "Health care professional" means a person licensed, registered or
11 authorized pursuant to title eight of the education law to prescribe
12 prescription drugs.
13 (c) "Pharmacist" means a person licensed or authorized to practice
14 pharmacy pursuant to article one hundred thirty-seven of the education
15 law.
16 2. A health care professional or pharmacist is authorized to dispense
17 drug adulterant testing supplies to any person. Any drug adulterant
18 testing supplies dispensed under this section shall be stored at a
19 licensed pharmacy, hospital, clinic, or other health care facility or at
20 the medical office of a health care professional and in a manner that
21 limits access to the drug adulterant testing supplies to health care
22 professionals or pharmacists employed at the pharmacy, hospital, clinic,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01425-06-3
A. 5200--B 2
1 or other health care facility or medical office and any persons desig-
2 nated by the health care professional or pharmacist. Drug adulterant
3 testing supplies dispensed at a retail store containing a pharmacy under
4 this section shall be dispensed only from the pharmacy department of the
5 retail store. No quantity of drug adulterant testing supplies greater
6 than necessary to conduct five assays of substances suspected of
7 containing adulterants shall be dispensed in any single transaction.
8 3. The commissioner shall promulgate all rules and regulations neces-
9 sary for the implementation of this section.
10 § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
11 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
12 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
13 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
14 on or before such effective date.
