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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Toni Smith, New York State Director of Drug Policy Alliance, on Substance Use and Overdose Prevention
5:18:54
·
135 sec
Toni Smith from the Drug Policy Alliance presented testimony on the state of overdose deaths in New York City, highlighting disparities in progress and advocating for a health-focused approach to substance use. She emphasized the need for non-stigmatizing care, appropriate spaces for public drug use, and increased harm reduction services.
- While overall overdose deaths are decreasing statewide, New York City's share is increasing, now accounting for half of all statewide deaths.
- Black, brown, and indigenous New Yorkers are still experiencing a growing overdose crisis, especially in NYC.
- Smith criticized increased drug arrests and opposed investments in policing people struggling with substance use, instead calling for more harm reduction focused drop-in spaces and expanded sanitation services for drug litter cleanup.
Toni Smith
5:18:54
Good afternoon chairs and staff.
5:18:56
My name is Toni Smith.
5:18:58
I'm the New York State Director at the Drug Policy Alliance.
5:19:00
We advocate for a holistic approach to drugs that prioritize health, social supports, and community well-being.
5:19:07
Across the state we are seeing a downward trend in overdose deaths.
5:19:11
However, what we are also seeing is that deaths in New York City are not dropping at the same pace as the rest of the state.
5:19:18
New York City's share of statewide overdose deaths is steadily increasing now accounting for half of all statewide deaths.
5:19:25
More while overdose deaths are dropping, for black, brown and indigenous New Yorkers the crisis is still growing.
5:19:31
This is acutely true in New York City.
5:19:34
The drop in deaths overall is supported by investments to increase access to overdose reversal medication, medications for opioid use disorder, drug checking tools, and education.
5:19:45
We applaud the city and the council for this progress, but significant gaps remain to reduce deaths equitably.
5:19:52
Lack of access to non stigmatizing care and lack of appropriate spaces for people whose use happens in public in addition to lack of housing and increased criminalization hinder efforts to prevent overdose deaths.
5:20:05
Across the city drug arrests are increasing.
5:20:08
In The Bronx drug arrests have doubled since 2023.
5:20:11
The Bronx is also where overdose deaths have increased the most in recent years.
5:20:16
We are concerned that the NYPD's new quality of life division will exacerbate these harms.
5:20:21
We oppose investments to police people struggling with substance use.
5:20:25
Instead of arresting people, the city must increase access to appropriate spaces such as harm reduction focused drop in spaces for people in active drug use.
5:20:34
We support existing investments in harm reduction programs to keep people alive and engage them in care.
5:20:40
We are happy to see the launch of the community syringe redemption program.
5:20:44
We support additional investments to increase the capacity of syringe service program to do outreach and litter cleanup in neighborhoods that aren't currently being served by these services.
5:20:53
We also support the council's proposal to expand sanitation services to safely clean up litter, drug litter, and urge the council to ensure that these resources focus on litter cleanup and not on increasing enforcement personnel.
5:21:06
And we will submit more in our written comments.
5:21:08
Thank you.