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Senate amends state law language, replacing "addict" with "person with substance use disorder"
Summary
The New York State Senate voted to replace the word "addict" with the term "person with substance use disorder" across multiple provisions of state law. Sponsors said the change reduces stigma and aligns statutory language with clinical understanding.
Albany — The New York State Senate on May 19, 2025 approved a judiciary-calendar item that replaces the word “addict” in state law with “person with substance use disorder,” a change sponsors said reflects medical understanding and will reduce stigma.
Senator Fernandez, speaking in support on the Senate floor, said the change substitutes a stigmatizing label with a clinical term and noted the historical context: “The term addict entered New York statute in 1972 just as heroin was tearing … a year later, the Rockefeller drug laws, and overnight, stigma entered statute,” she said. Fernandez described substance use…
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