The NYS Bar Association Recommendations For A Better Opioid Addiction Policy

November 17, 2025

Robert Kent, Author and President, Kent Strategic Advisors, LLC

Tom O'Connor, Publisher

"Opioid Addiction" is a problematic pattern of opioid use that causes significant impairment or distress. Opioid Use Disorder is a treatable, chronic disease that can affect anyone – regardless of race, sex, income level, or social class. An effective opioid addiction policy combines prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services while actively working to reduce stigma.

According to Attorney Robert Kent

I have always taken pride in being an attorney. Being one has enabled me to impact policy, ensuring that individual rights are upheld and that individuals can access the services and rights to which they are entitled. At the root of being an attorney is advocacy, which involves ensuring that laws and rules are followed, are fair, and are amended when necessary!

I have dedicated most of the last two decades of my professional life to working on drug policy, a subject matter that usually receives too little attention. I am beaming with pride that the NYS Bar Association ("NYSBA"), of which I am a member, has appointed a Task Force on Opioid Addiction, which has made policy recommendations for the NYS government to consider. 

The task force, a diverse group comprising district attorneys, judges, public defenders, leaders of addiction treatment programs, and a special narcotics prosecutor for New York City, collaborated to develop these recommendations. I was honored to be a member of this united body. 

On October 25, 2025, the NYSBA House of Delegates adopted our report, a significant milestone that now makes our recommendations the official stance of the NYSBA membership!

Read more about the opioid crisis here.

Among NYSBA's recommendations are:

• Expanding access to drug treatment medications, specifically allowing emergency medical technicians to administer the opioid drug buprenorphine in the field under the supervision of a physician. The state of New Jersey allows its EMTs to provide the drug, which manages pain and withdrawal.

• Continuing the use of telemedicine to prescribe buprenorphine. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has extended a COVID-era rule allowing prescribers to give the drug during tele-health visits. The association is advocating for the federal government to make the rule permanent.

Specific to the use of opioid settlement funds, the Task Force recommends:

• To improve staffing in the addiction care system, opioid settlement funds should be dedicated to pay for workforce initiatives, and student loan forgiveness should be offered to entice job candidates to enter the field. Many addiction care providers report a job vacancy rate of 20%, forcing them to serve fewer patients than their capacity.

• Expanded access to methadone.

• Expanded and increased funding for prevention services.

• Expanded and increased funding for integrated recovery supports and services.

• Action to secure a lower price for the purchase of naloxone.

The specific recommendations highlighted above are just a selection from the many put forward by the Task Force. Please read the report and consider how you can contribute to advancing good drug policy.

You can find the report here: 

https://nysba.org/new-york-state-bar-association-recommends-expanding-treatment-for-opioid-addiction/.

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Robert Kent can be reached at https://www.kentstrategicadvisors.com/

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