Brian Cody's Brothers & Sisters Foundation

Specific areas of focus:

1) Expansion of criminal laws;

a.      Stricter penalties for suppliers of lethal opioids;

b.      Termination of opioid safe havens (e.g., trap houses, etc.);

c.      Stricter oversight on the required tracking of opioid materials and waste products;

2) Immediate removal of treatment barriers and impediments for those seeking help;

3) Expanded treatment guidelines and requirements for service providers and insurance companies;

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Proposed Provisions:

1) Criminal Provisions;

a.      Distributors - Introduce legislation to hold drug distributors (at all levels), who are accountable for overdose leading to death, to the same legal standard of those who commit manslaughter;

b.      ‘Trap Houses’ - introduce new best practices and a set of (tiered) enforceable laws to a) inform and warn, b) educate and put on notice c) impose penalties, liens, and evictions where necessary;

c.      Tracking Oversight – introduce new guidelines for the tracking of opioid materials and waste by products, along with penalties for compliance failures;

2) Remove Impediments;

Increase support at critical moments - Terminate the barriers commonly encountered when addicted folks are seeking help, to include:

a.      Introduce and fund ‘Angel/High Risk Navigator’ programs in each municipality of the state that would provide intermediate/transitionary services (medical, housing, etc.)  that will allow those seeking help a place of refuge while awaiting an opening at a ‘near term’ treatment program, right after discharge from the hospital or police station, when relapse risk is at its peak;  

b.      Reduce and/or terminate any law or treatment program guideline where a request for addiction rehabilitation services may be denied;

c.      Modify entrance policies of treatment programs to alleviate the need for addicts to ‘be there an hour ago’ for a bed. Currently, programs give little to no time for an addict to make it to their location for intake. Many times these programs are in other counties or states from where the addict reside, low-income transportation options must be factored into the intake process;

d.     Establish more treatment programs, there are only 106 beds in the state of Connecticut, there are (x) cases requiring opioid treatment on average. Lack of treatment availability is a root cause problem and major impediment for those seeking help ;  

3) Expanded Treatment Guidelines

a.      Consider modifications to first responder and hospital intake policies so that when a person is treated for opioids they are provided care for a minimum of seventy two (72) hours, similar to the care provided for those considered to be a suicide risk;

b.      Define and enforce stricter expectations of treatment programs – treatment programs must be held to an industry standard, be accountable for the failure rates, and penalized when they fail their ‘customers’ (patients); 

c.      Require that treatment programs provide each patient a liaison that can work with recovery coaches (at the hospital/police station, etc.) in the event of a relapse, regardless of the time of day;

d.      Identify better long term treatment options – require that treatment programs offer longer term service options that facilitate transition into the patient’s ‘real world’;

 

Specific areas of law targeted:

1)    Update drug transfer, tracking, storage, and maintenance technology and enable record accuracy and security:

a.     Update 21a-244abcd, 21a-254, 21a-261 to reflect: to enable the most modern advancement in technology (for example: AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain) to efficiently gather, track, store, secure and otherwise maintain a drug record (live or inactive) and to ensure the accuracy and transfer in each step of the drug process chain from creation to sign off by the ultimate user (documentation of every transfer from one hand to the other so theft for nefarious reasons can be eliminated).

b.     Update 21a-244b: Enable the digital record to take precedence over written drug records when a conflict arises so that blockchain (or more advanced ledger and technology) can keep the precise record in multiple impartial ledgers

c.     Update 21a-249: If paper prescriptions are used, multiple forms of ID should be presented and scanned into a system in able to ensure accurate delivery to the ultimate user or provide evidence of fraudulent activity. In instances where a caretaker or named person is picking up medications for the ultimate user, named person should be on record and provide ID to scan into the system for pick up. If no digital equipment is available for scanning or digital record, a photo of identification as well as the identification held up to the face of the person presenting is acceptable

d.     Update 21a-252: Any amount of opiate distributed and administered, (for example samples given in an office or small amounts administered in a health facility) will need a digital record at time of distribution or administration.

e.     (NEW) 21a-252: Educational material (paper or digital) about the addictive properties of opioids and addiction and counseling/therapy resources will be given at any time an opioid of any amount if prescribed, distributed, or administered.  

f.       (NEW) or update to 21a-254a: Enable a task force to study annual patterns and outliers of use identified by advanced technology (for example AI and machine learning) and recommend corrective actions

  

2)   Update methods of tracking chain of transfers of key components and final opioid product to ultimate user (a chain of transfers evidence from creation to ultimate user)

a)    (NEW) Create a new digital standard for scanning and tracking material components through the entire process from origin to ultimate user. Each movement of main components to require a badge in/badge out from each individual in-process of transferring, working with, delivering, or storing components. Data from transfers to be analyzed by AI for patterns/outliers and stored on a blockchain system

b)    Update 21a-258 (formerly Sec. 19-465): Carriers and warehouse persons will now be required to badge in/badge out. 21a-258 could also be revoked, replaced by requirements in the above which requires everyone to badge in/badge out for all component movements.

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3)    Funding for addiction remediation, safe neighborhood programs, prescription drug/drug enforcement programs, and updated methods of addiction remediation

a)    Update 21a-274a: Grants will cease. In their place an annual fund will be created and take the place of grants to provide agencies with the necessary financial, human, and technical resources they need to:

·   Educate communities about opioids, addiction, and addiction management services as well as laws and penalties surrounding illegal manufacturing, use, distribution, and using another person’s medication  

·   Create and manage programs that provide mental therapy and remediation services (such as rehab programs, antagonists medications, and ongoing counseling) for everyone from first time offenders and repeat offenders to addicts and those who relapse or feel they will relapse

·   Provide addiction and rehabilitation education and services to all who need it with no maximum benefit or time limit to care 

·   Update and provide methods for counseling and education services, such as electronic education and addiction management courses with certification of completion, gamification of addiction treatment (much like a fitness goal tracker or daily check-in points for addiction), and online counseling services

·   Create a program for neighborhoods to map suspected or known drug house and create a reward system for identifying

 b)    (NEW) Empower corporations who manufacture, store, transfer, otherwise distribute and who generate profit from opiate sales known to cause addiction to annually fund 21a-274a existing and proposed expansion programs

 

4)    Expansion of Penalties:

a.     Update Sec. 21a-255: Update to include corporations and businesses and others who may knowingly fail to create, check, or store accurate records, manipulate records (digitally or manually) or otherwise violate record keeping standards with the intent to distribute large or frequent quantities of schedule II or addictive drugs to produce themselves or assist others in the production of illegal manufacture or distribution of opioids.

b.     Update 21a-267 (formerly Sec. 19-472a): Penalties should also include offenders being required to receive education, addiction services, and therapy and other services from programs within updated 21a-274a at judge’s discretion.

c.     Update 21a-267 (formerly Sec. 19-472a): Create penalties for those who own, rent, lease, harbor, know about, or frequent neighborhood drug houses known or unknown

d.     Update 21a-278: Include the language non-drug-dependent person, businesses, or corporation

e.      Update 21a-279 (formerly Sec 19-481): Include alternative sentence programs as listed in the updated 21a-274a above

f.       Update 21a-282 (formerly Sec. 19-482): Businesses and Corporations, inside and outside Connecticut state borders are still eligible to prosecuted by the State of Connecticut even where federal action has been taken due to the toll that opioid addiction has on communities and addiction programs and funding for those programs to remediate the opioid addiction epidemic

g.     Update 21a-283a: Include alternative sentence programs as listed in the updated 21a-274a above.

h.     Update Secs 21a-284 and 21a-285 (Formerly Secs. 19-484 and 19-485): Reestablish the ability to suspend prosecution to enable treatment and education of opioid addiction and drug dependence using programs as noted in the updated 21a-274a; dismissal or reduction of charges. Order for treatment in addition to penalties on conviction; penalty for unauthorized exit from programs or hospital. 

i.       Stricter financial penalties for manufacturers and suppliers of lethal opioids which can include individuals up to large corporations within or outside Connecticut state borders 

j.       Termination of opioid safe havens (e.g., trap houses, etc.)