NCADD-NJ’S Public Affairs Unit and Advocacy program are the
vehicles for warriors (young and old) to battle for a better human condition.
Our staff and volunteers have had a measurable impact on the crafting of public
policy in the Garden State. In particular, we’ve seen enacted, expungement
reform, drug court expansion, and enhanced substance misuse therapy for the
incarcerated, to name merely three. In general, NCADD-NJ has been in the
vanguard of the 180-degree change of perception of substance misuse as an
illness that requires treatment and recovery services from an earlier view that
saw it as a symptom of poor judgment that could be corrected by punishment.
Listed below are just a few of the measures moving in the
state Legislature in the final quarter of 2018. They have two things in common.
First, they all would improve the quality of life for those battling with
addiction. Second, none would have made it as far as they have without the
principled and experienced efforts of the people living with that
struggle and their families.
* A.2031/S.1339 – Ensures that insurance coverage for
behavioral health care be on a par with that for medical and surgical services,
and enhances oversight and enforcement of mental health and addiction parity
laws
* A.4866 – Requires institutions of higher education to
maintain a supply of opioid antidotes and permits the emergency administration
of same by campus medical professionals or trained employees
* A.4513 – Establishes a gross income tax credit of up to
$5,000 per year for physicians, physician assistants and advanced practice
nurses who volunteer to provide opioid use disorder therapy in a drug treatment
program
* S.2330 – Allows persons convicted of certain drug offenses
to qualify for a casino employee license
* A.4131 – Establish vehicle staffing and performance
standards, as well as, review and reporting requirements for non-emergency Medicaid
transportation
* AJR 70/SJR 94 – Establish a temporary task force to
examine how best to treat individuals who experience multiple opioid overdoses
and reversals; and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature
* A.4546/S.491 – Requires public and private high schools to
annually conduct written or verbal substance screenings on all students using a
particular program (SBIRT – Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to
Treatment)
* A.1467 – Facilitate the establishment of four new peer-to-peer
recovery community centers
* A.216 – Mandate police training for interactions with
people who may have behavioral health issues
* S.2100/A.3456 – Remove prohibition on voting by persons on
probation, parole or incarcerated
* S.2244/A.3292 – Mandate that all prescription opioid
medication include a warning sticker advising patients of the risk of addiction
and overdose
* A.3288/S.948 - Designate sober living homes as beneficial
uses in the context of the Municipal Land Use Act
* S.2321/A.3898 – Authorize public libraries to maintain a
supply of opioid antidotes and permits emergency administration by trained
library personnel
* S.1324/A.1189 – Mandate that a portion of forfeited assets
in certain drug cases be directed to fund drug treatment
Ed Martone
Policy Analyst
