NY Assembly Wants To Spend $30M Fighting Heroin Epidemic

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published March 9, 2016 at 4:30 PM EST

A proposal to set aside $30 million to fight the heroin epidemic in New York state has been announced by the Assembly.

The measure would expand prevention, treatment and recovery efforts around the state, with a special focus on areas and populations that are considered underserved by current programs.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, says it has become clear that state leaders must "step up our game" in response to the scourge of heroin and opiate addiction.

The proposal unveiled Tuesday will be included in the Assembly's budget proposal. A final state budget is expected to be negotiated in the coming weeks by Heastie, Republican Senate Leader John Flanagan and Governor Andrew Cuomo

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Dave Lucas

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.

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