Vincenzo Zagari was in high school when he took an Oxycontin from a friend for a sports injury. Years later, he developed a heroin addiction that culminated in a brief crime spree in Pittsford and him being shot by police.
He's in prison now, and his mother, AnnMarie, has responded by taking up the cause for legislation that addresses opioid abuse.
"We all go through the same thing when our kids are suffering. Whether you lose them on the streets, whether they're incarcerated, or you have to bury them -- we lose our child the minute they take that first pill because they are different and we will never get them back."
Zagari joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter at Trillium Health in Rochester as they announced Gillibrand's latest bill. It would require the CDC to issue guidelines for prescribing opioids to treat acute pain, like that associated with broken bones or dental procedures.
"We have to give doctors guidance about how much will make someone addicted, are there alternatives that are not addictive, and don't give someone 60 pills when they only need three."
Gillibrand says this will not only help educate doctors and prevent addiction in patients, it will help reduce the amount of opioids available to non-patients that may buy, steal, or borrow excess pills.
The CDC is currently producing guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, but Gillibrand says that's not enough.
"We've seen enough data to know that our opioid addiction problem is spiraling out of control."
Congresswoman Slaughter pledged to her part in the House of Representatives to get the bill through Congress. She also mentioned some other initiatives that she says she'll be taking on with Senator Gillibrand in the future in the fight against opioid addiction.
Specifically, Slaughter wants to mandate drug take-back programs, where pharmacies accept and store unused medication for pharmaceutical companies to collect and dispose of.
"We don't want them in the water supply, we don't want them in the landfill. And heaven knows they make enough money off selling that it would not be that much of an imposition to ask them to do away with the excess.
Slaughter says she's also concerned with recidivism rates in drug treatment.
