PROGRESS –
Mar. 26, 2026 – (photo-Massapequa resident Tricia Ragusa, a mother and educator, is in recovery from opioid addiction) Far fewer people are using opioids than a decade ago, surveys indicate, and substance use experts and former opioid users say that — along with increased use of the anti-opioid nasal spray naloxone — has led to a sharp drop in the number of Long Islanders dying of overdoses. addiction experts say the decrease in people using opioids and dying from them shows that years of efforts to tackle the opioid crisis are bearing fruit. “It took a long time, and a lot of people died in the process, but I think we’re finally starting to see the payoff,” said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based Family and Children’s Association. Six Long Island addiction and substance use experts told Newsday they’ve seen the drop in opioid use, and they credit stricter opioid prescription controls, more addiction treatment options and more concerted education and prevention efforts.
People were also scared off using opioids as they heard of the mounting number of people who died of overdoses from prescription drugs and heroin that were spiked with fentanyl, a powerful and deadly synthetic opioid, said Tricia Ragusa, 47, of Massapequa, who has been in recovery from opioid addiction for the past decade and regularly talks with those more recently entering recovery.
“People are well aware of the fact that what’s out there is killing people,” she said.”
