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Lagana, Caride, McKeon, Mazzeo & Mukherji Bill to Combat Rising Tide of Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse Throughout N.J. Released by Assembly Panel

(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly Democrats Joseph Lagana, Marlene Caride, John McKeon, Vince Mazzeo and Raj Mukherji sponsored to combat the rising tide of heroin and prescription drug abuse throughout New Jersey was advanced Monday by an Assembly panel.
The bill (A-3062) would implement recommendations from the State Commission of Investigation’s July 2013 report entitled “Scenes from an Epidemic: A Report on the SCI’s Investigation of Prescription Pill and Heroin Abuse.” The report included testimony from law enforcement officials, drug addicts, members of street gangs and physicians who operated so-called pill mills, where prescription drugs could be obtained under the guise of seemingly legitimate medical practices. The mills often have ties to organized crime, the report stated.
“This problem is wide-ranging and our laws are not stringent enough to combat it,” said Lagana (D-Bergen/Passaic). “We need to do more to ensure we’re equipped to deal with this epidemic, before too many lives are lost. This is both the moral and responsible thing to do.”
“These recommendations expand on current law in several areas to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to combat illicit drug distribution and drug use, increase civil penalties related to prescription drug abuse and impose stronger controls over access to prescription drugs,” said Caride (D-Bergen/Passaic). “No one and no place in New Jersey is immune to the increasing concern over this abuse, whether it be a city or a suburb, and we need to do more to stem this tide or we risk our state’s future. These common sense ideas should go a long way toward combating this scourge.”
“This epidemic is, in many cases, flagrant and destructive to our future as a state,” said McKeon (D-Essex/Morris). “We’re losing too many people to addiction and illegal activity, and we cannot sit idle and watch it continue without giving law enforcement the tools they need to combat it and provide help to those in need. This bill makes clear that we will not sit back and allow this epidemic to continue.”
“This unbridled epidemic has tainted medical professionals, created scores of addicts and even attracted the tentacles of organized crime,” said Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “The illegal trafficking in and abuse of prescription painkillers and other addictive narcotics is a threat to our well-being as a state, and these thoughtful recommendations should be a major step toward overcoming it. Too many futures have already been lost. Let’s do the right thing and pass this bill.”
“We need to make common sense changes to our laws to combat this scourge,” said Mukherji (D-Hudson). “This bill is a long-awaited step in the right direction toward saving lives.”
The bill would revise various statutory provisions related to the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), which was established in the Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The PMP is an electronic system for monitoring controlled dangerous substances dispensed in or into the State in outpatient settings.
The bill was released by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.