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Bill

S 8637

Relates to purposes of the drug treatment and public education fund

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Addabbo and 4 co-sponsors

Expands the Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund to support youth prevention, cannabis health education, and a full continuum of prevention, treatment, and recovery with annual

ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.1384
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Bill Summary · S 8637

Bill Summary: S08637 (2025-2026) – Relates to purposes of the drug treatment and public education fund (New York)

Purpose and intent

  • Expands the purposes of the New York State Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund to include broader prevention and recovery initiatives.
  • Requires that reporting on fund activities be accessible to the public via the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASIS) website.

Key provisions and changes

  • Amends Section 99-jj of the State Finance Law (subdivisions 3 and 4):
    • (a) Clarifies that funds may be expended to administer the fund in accordance with the allowed uses.
    • (b) Develop and implement a youth-focused public health education and prevention campaign, including school-based prevention, early intervention, and health care services to reduce substance use among school-aged children.
    • (c) Develop and implement a statewide public health campaign on cannabis health effects and legal use, including ongoing education for the general public (parents, consumers, retailers) on:
    • Legal cannabis use
    • Preventing youth access and safe storage
    • Prevention of secondhand cannabis smoke exposure
    • Information for pregnant or breastfeeding women
    • Mitigating overconsumption of edible cannabis products
    • (d) Provide substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services for youth and adults with emphasis on:
    • Culturally and gender-competent, trauma-informed approaches
    • A continuum of care that includes screening/assessment, early intervention, active treatment, family involvement, case management, health services (including overdose prevention and prevention of communicable diseases related to substance use), relapse/reoccurrence management, vocational and literacy services, parenting and family therapy, medication-assisted treatments, psychiatric medication, psychotherapy, and recovery services
    • (e) Evaluate the funded programs to determine their effectiveness.
  • Reporting and transparency:
    • On or before December 1 each year, the OASIS Commissioner must deliver a written report to specified legislative and public bodies, and provide a consolidated dashboard publicly on the OASIS website.
    • The annual report must include:
    • Amount dispersed from the fund and the award process, including the state agency disbursing the funds
    • Recipients of fund awards and the amount awarded to each recipient
    • Start and end dates of each award period
    • Purposes for which awards were granted
    • A summary financial plan with estimates of receipts and disbursements for the current and next fiscal years, plus actual results from the prior year
    • The remaining balance in the fund
  • Effective date: Immediate upon enactment.

Who/what is affected

  • The Drug Treatment and Public Education Fund (S. JJ fund) and its governance.
  • The Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASIS), in coordination with:
    • New York State Department of Health
    • Office of Mental Health
    • Office of Cannabis Management
    • Commissioner of Education
  • Public health and education initiatives related to substance use and cannabis, including:
    • Youth prevention and school-based programs
    • Public awareness campaigns targeted at general public, parents, retailers, and other stakeholders
    • Prevention/treatment/recovery services for both youth and adults
  • Recipients of fund awards and the agencies administering those awards

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Annual reporting requirement: By the first day of February (note: the bill text indicates December in the version summarized, but the current text specifies the first day of February; the header shows December as the deadline in the amendments; the official text should be followed for final timing).
  • Reports must be consolidated into a public dashboard on the OASIS website.
  • Immediate take effect upon enactment.

Notable clarifications

  • The bill emphasizes a continuum of care approach, including harm reduction elements (overdose prevention, infectious disease prevention) and recovery-oriented services.
  • It places explicit emphasis on culturally and gender-competent, trauma-informed services.
  • It expands the messaging scope to address both youth prevention and public education about cannabis use and its health effects.

If you’d like, I can compare this bill to current law language or provide a side-by-side plain-language impact forecast for key stakeholders.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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