Hochul administration points to alternative way of referring to drug abusers instead of “addicts”

The clever language police are at it again.

The Hochul administration wants to scrap the use of the word “addict” to describe a drug addict in New York state government — proposing the uber-PC alternative “person with a substance abuse disorder.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul placed a ban on “addicts” and “habitual users” as part of a plan to tackle the opioid epidemic in her $252 billion budget proposal unveiled Tuesday, even as the state agency that oversees the treatment of abuse is called the Office of Addiction Services. and Support.

“The law also removes stigmatizing language in numerous areas of the law by replacing ‘an addict or habitual user of any narcotic drug’ with ‘a person with a substance use disorder,'” a budget memo said.

Critics said the obsession with language is another example of political correctness colored by word salad.

“New York state government needs to stop worrying about words and worry about providing treatment,” said state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kasser. “I’d rather see state officials focus on saving lives.”

Hochul’s spending plan spends nearly $1.25 billion on substance abuse treatment through OASS.

One Republican lawmaker blasted the ban on the word “druggie” as “ridiculous.”

“My fellow Democrats and the governor have always been more concerned with semantics than doing good things to improve the lives of New Yorkers — including those with addiction problems,” said Sen. George Borrello (R-Jamestown).

“Worrying about what is titled something instead of the effectiveness of policy has always bogged down Democrats.”

But a veteran drug treatment provider defended Hochul’s censoring of the words “addict” and “habitual user,” saying words matter.

“The purpose of the amendment is to reduce the stigma for people who are addicted to drugs,” said Luke Nasta, executive director of Staten Island-based Camelot Counseling.

“Substance abuse permeates society,” he added. “It’s a good thing to remove the stigma. We can make the problem more understandable and treat it better if we reduce the stigma.”

He said the governor is simply formalizing how treatment providers refer to patients — as people with a substance use disorder.

However, Nasta has been critical of the state’s oversight of drug treatment, saying it takes years to open a residential treatment facility because of red tape.

Hochul’s spending plan would allow paramedics to administer Buprenorphine/nalox to treat opioid abuse.

It would also allow providers to issue a three-day supply of opioid use disorder medication to curb the likelihood of overdose.