Several mothers came to the Puerto Rican Senate to be part of the public hearing of the Committee on Community Initiatives, Mental Health and Addiction chaired by independent Senator José Vargas Vidot, and narrate their poignant experiences in losing their lives. their children due to opioid overdose. In this way they expressed their support for the Senate Bill 71 of the authorship, precisely the President of the Commission, Vargas Vidot and the Senate President, José Luis Dalmau Santiago.
This project seeks to establish certain protections for people suffering from an overdose who request emergency medical assistance with the creation of this law; establish certain protections for people requesting emergency medical assistance for a person suffering from an overdose; establish certain protections for the use of naloxone by persons other than health professionals, as well as for other purposes.
The first case presented to the public hearing was that of Mrs. Marisol Villegas of the organization Mothers in Mourning. She narrated the ordeal of her son, a young man, who, according to her, “suffered from chronic substance use disorder”.
“In addition to my professional experience, life led me to live the disease of the addiction of one of my children. Unfortunately, he could not enjoy living a drug-free life and was the victim of a heinous crime in January 2017. As a mother, I lived constantly with the fear of one day finding my son dead or being brought to the news that he had died in a hospital, “confessed this mother who has worked with organizations such as Home Creates and Community Initiative, among others.
Villegas lamented that many of those who have died have not had the opportunity to rely on the drug Naloxone to prevent such deaths. “Today they die from fentanyl-contaminated drugs. Perhaps the story would have been different for many of them if they had had naxolone, the antidote to opioid poisoning, in their hands.”
Another of the heartbreaking moments during the view, was when Dra. Elba J. Guzmán-Faria narrated to those present how she had lost her only child after she began using Oxycodone.
“Apparently, he started taking Oxycodone during 2015 after suffering a ruptured ligament in one ankle while running. He realized his dangerous behavior when I reported him alarmed, in June 2017, that the deaths from the opioid use had become an epidemic.About five weeks after this conversation my son died.He died on August 3, 2017, that day at 6:07 a.m. I received this call that none father / mother wants to receive, “Guzmán Faria explained tearfully.
“I and all the mothers who have lost children due to this pandemic are grateful to Senators Vargas Vidot and Dalmau Santiago for being willing to draw attention to an overwhelming problem facing the entire American Nation, including the its territory Puerto Rico “, concluded Dr. Guzmán-Faria.
Faced with these stories that moved those present, the senator of God of Lourdes Santiago, not only thanked them for their appearance, but also congratulated them for their courage. “My respect and gratitude; and above all their generosity not only to testify in favor of a measure, but to open up to the greatest suffering a mother must have,” the legislator said.
There was another story sent to the commission by a mother that her son also died from substance use and who demands the measure be passed.
Another of the depositors was, the Hispanic National Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), an organization that brings together all Hispanic lawmakers in the United States and presented to the Commission to also express in favor of the Senate Bill 71.
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“This is the first time the Caucus has come to Puerto Rico to testify about a bill; this speaks to the importance of what P. de la S. 71 represents,” said the organization’s executive director, Lic. Kenneth Romero Creu.
According to the Hispanic Caucus, they support the measure because it seeks to materially advance the same goals and mechanisms as Hispanic state lawmakers across the United States, to protect people who suffer from opioid problems or are prone to overdose related to opioids, so they can get the help they need. They also suggest that some amendments be made to strengthen it.
Meanwhile, the first community-based organization to file was Community Initiative in which its coordinator of the opioid overdose prevention project of the Fixed Point Damage Reduction Program, Carielys Flors López, established that the project in consideration it is a medulla of the Center.
“We endorse this project because it covers an aspect of great relevance for the prevention of deaths from opioid overdoses, particularly in the population that Community Initiative provides services. This legislative measure minimizes one of the great barriers that have our participants and their support networks (which mostly become witnesses to overdose events) which are punitive interventions when an overdose event occurs to a person who uses illicit opioids for non-medical purposes, ”Flors López mentioned.
Regarding the use of naloxone, Flors López understands that the project also guarantees access to this drug that in the past was an economically accessible and is currently not so accessible to everyone. In fact, the coordinator has indicated that a “nasal kit” for this drug costs $ 168.00.
For its part, the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF) focused on providing data on opioid deaths. These ensure that annually on the island are reported approximately 30 thousand to 36 thousand deaths of which 5,000-6,000 are referred to the ICF. A total of approximately 2,500-3,000 are referred to the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory for chemical analysis, in order to determine the presence of drugs that could be related to death.
All depositors at this public hearing voted in favor of the project.