SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California’s opioid epidemic represents one of the greatest public health crises in our state’s history.
(b) Based on preliminary data, there were 6,843 opioid-related overdose deaths in California in 2021. Of these deaths, 5,722 were related to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Of those fentanyl-related deaths, 224 were among California teens, 15 to 19 years of age, inclusive.
(c) The scope and scale of the opioid crisis demands that California use all available tools to prevent overdose deaths.
(d) One tool to combat this crisis is the utilization of the Naloxone Distribution Project administered by the State Department of Health Care Services. The Naloxone Distribution Project currently distributes naloxone to law enforcement, schools, community organizations, and other groups upon completion of an application.
(e) Naloxone is an opioid antagonist indicated for the complete or partial reversal of opioid overdose, including respiratory depression, induced by natural and synthetic opioids. It may be delivered intramuscularly with a needle or intranasally. Naloxone is indicated for emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose. It is not a substitute for emergency medical care.
(f) The State of California’s “Naloxone Standing Order” expressly states: “The purpose of this standing order is to help reduce morbidity and mortality associated with opioid overdose by facilitating the distribution and administration of naloxone hydrochloride (naloxone).”
(g) While the Naloxone Distribution Project’s distribution of four-milligram doses or less of naloxone has been sufficient in the past, there is increasing evidence that administration of a single four-milligram dose may be insufficient to reverse an overdose due to the prevalence of the more potent fentanyl.
(h) Given the importance of timely administration of an opioid antagonist and that someone administering an opioid antagonist may not have access to multiple doses, it is important that United States Food and Drug Administration-approved stronger dosage formulations of an opioid antagonist be made available.
(i) The standing order contains no limitation on dosage strengths of naloxone to be made available to “non-prescribing entities to distribute...to individuals at risk of opioid overdose, their family members and friends...”
(j) While there is currently no limitation on the dosage strength, the State Department of Health Care Services has not made a higher dose of an opioid antagonist available.
(k) This bill authorizes and directs the State Department of Health Care Services to make all United States Food and Drug Administration-approved formulations and dosage strengths of naloxone available through the Naloxone Distribution Project.