California state legislators from both parties are scrambling this term to announce a series of new legislation aimed at curbing fentanyl overdoses as the crisis deepens.
San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Matt Haney announced a new bill on Tuesday that would require gas stations, bars, libraries and single rooms to keep a supply of the opioid-reversing drug Narcan on site. The bill would require shipments of the lifesaving drug to be mailed free of charge by the California Department of Public Health.
“If fentanyl continues to be cheaper and more accessible than opioid blockers, we will continue to see an increase in overdose deaths,” Haney said.
Click here to read the special report Fentanyl on Campus from the Bay Area News Group.
In announcing the bill, Haney also cited a Bay Area News Group report from October that found as many as one-fifth of deaths among young people aged 15-24 were directly attributable to fentanyl last year .
In a follow-up report published Sunday, the news organization surveyed more than 40 Bay Area school districts and found that most have not yet acquired Narcan on their campuses, though several students have overdosed. Many school districts, including Oakland, Castro Valley and Palo Alto, said they plan to stock up on Narcan in the next two months.
Other proposed legislation may soon require schools to take action.
Democratic Sen. Dave Cortese of San Jose announced a bill in November that would require schools across the state to create plans to respond to a medical event involving fentanyl. Another bill from Rocklin Republican Assemblyman Joe Patterson would require every school to have at least two doses of Narcan on campus. Cortese said there is a bipartisan consensus in Sacramento that more needs to be done now to curb the sudden surge in fentanyl.
“People have a sense of urgency about this issue in the legislature,” Cortese said. “It will take all hands on deck … because the problem is so pervasive.”
For more information on the signs and symptoms of fentanyl poisoning, visit the US National Institutes of Health website at nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/fentanyl.