County and state leaders call for opioid awareness and prevention

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — State officials joined together Thursday calling for a renewed focus on opioid awareness and prevention amid an uptick in deadly, as well as non-deadly overdoses.

They say the easiest way for people to save lives is to "see the signs".

"We’ve seen neonatal abstinence syndrome [newborn drug withdrawal] happening with opioid addiction, substance abuse before we’re even born, into first responders, in the community, on the corner, in someone’s house, we’ve distributed NARCAN, Naloxone, for years to revive individuals that have succumbed to opioid addiction and recovery, but where you don’t want to end up is in the coroner’s office in the attention of a medical examiner," said NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario.

A record 81,230 opioid-related deaths were reported in the state, between May 2019 and May 2020 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.