NYPD, NYC prosecutor call for ban on fentanyl-related opioids
LOWER MANHATTAN, New York City (WABC) -- The NYPD and the New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor are pushing for new legislation that would ban a class of opioids known as fentanyl analogs.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan and Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill unveiled a grand jury report Tuesday in support of such a ban.
The report, the first of its kind issued by a Special Narcotics Grand Jury, details public health risks associated fentanyl analogs, which are described as powerful and harmful synthetic opioids increasingly linked to overdose deaths in New York City.
Unlike fentanyl itself, fentanyl analogs are largely unregulated. They are currently legal in New York State.
The report recommends the New York State Legislature adopt a "fentanyl analog statute" that would ban all forms of fentanyl analogs by classifying them as Schedule I drugs under New York's Public Health Law.
The report also call for additional funding for police and medical examiner labs that analyze controlled substances.
Police seizures of fentanyl analogs in New York City have steadily increased since 2016, the grand jury found.
According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), fentanyl analogs have contributed to approximately 900 fatal overdoses across the five boroughs since 2017.
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