[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Amherst 5-16-2018 by L.L. No. 11-2018. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Public nuisance abatement — See Ch. 152.
This Chapter shall be called entitled "Municipal Opioid Cost
Recovery and Public Nuisance."
Addiction to and abuse of opioids is a significant challenge
facing the Town. A cause of this increasing crisis is the overabundance
of prescription opioids. The selling, distributing and prescribing
of large amounts of opioids within the Town has created a public health
and safety hazard affecting the residents of the Town. As a result
of the opioid epidemic, costs related to healthcare, community services,
criminal justice, addiction and rehabilitation and many other areas
have significantly increased. Many of these costs are paid by the
Town.
For the purpose of this Chapter, the following words, terms
and phrases, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section,
except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
All expenditures related to the opioid epidemic that directly
or indirectly arise from the Town's response to a responsible
party's action or inaction.
Any person or entity whose negligent, intentional, or otherwise
wrongful conduct causes the incident resulting in the Town incurring
costs or who is found liable or made responsible by a court for the
costs incurred by the Town in the form of damages, regardless of the
cause of action.
The Town may recover the costs of governmental functions related
to opioids marketed, sold, manufactured, dispensed, prescribed and/or
distributed by the responsible party. If a responsible party fails
to pay the costs demanded, the Town may initiate and recover costs
through administrative, civil and/or criminal action against the responsible
party. In that case, the Town may also recover attorney's fees,
interest and any other payment or type of damages the court deems
proper.
The initiation of administrative or civil proceedings for governmental
function cost recovery does not bar the criminal prosecution of a
responsible party for any associated violation. Similarly, criminal
prosecution does not bar civil collection of costs for the violation
giving rise to the criminal prosecution.
The Town hereby finds and declares the following:
1.
That addiction to and abuse of opioids is a significant challenge
facing the Town;
2.
A cause of this increasing crisis is the overabundance of prescription
opioids. Vast amounts of prescription opioid pain pills have been
and continue to be sold, distributed and prescribed in the Town
3.
There is evidence showing that heroin users began their addiction
by first using and then misusing prescription pain medications containing
opioids;
4.
The selling, distributing, and prescribing of large amounts of opioid
pain pills in the Town has created a public health and safety hazard
affecting the residents of the Town, resulting in devastation to Town
families, a negative effect on the Town economy, wasted public resources
and narcotic dependence by some of its residents;
5.
That selling, distributing and prescribing of prescription opioid
pain pills is a hazard to public health and safety, which has created
a public nuisance to the citizens of the Town and that nuisance remains
unabated;
6.
That, in addition to all other powers and duties now conferred by
law upon the Town, the Town is authorized to enact ordinances, issue
orders and take other appropriate and necessary actions for the elimination
of hazards to public health and safety and to abate or cause to be
abated anything which the commission determines to be a public nuisance;
7.
That manufacturers of prescription opioids and those in the chain
of distribution have wrongfully abused the privilege of selling and/or
providing medication to the Town's residents and must be held
accountable; and
8.
That it is the duty of the Town to take action to abate this public
nuisance.
This legislation applies retroactively.
