California bill aims to prevent opioid overdose deaths. Would it include Stanislaus County?

Bars, libraries, gas stations and hotels in some counties experiencing an opioid crisis could be required to carry free Narcan in their employee break rooms if a proposed bill in California’s legislature gets signed.

The emergency response: opioid antagonists kits bill, or Assembly Bill 24, was introduced by Asm. Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, to help save the lives of people experiencing an opioid overdose.

Would it include Stanislaus County? Here are the details, including the next hearing, where the bill could be amended again:

Why the bill was introduced

Haney was outside his apartment when he said he witnessed somebody experiencing an overdose.

He and a few others scrambled, trying to find Narcan — the brand name for naloxone — because they knew the anti-overdose medication could save the person.

Somebody on the street had Narcan, and Haney was able to help administer it. The person survived.

“There was a bar directly across the street. There was a liquor store on the corner,” Haney said. “If we knew that a few of those places will (potentially) be required to carry Narcan, we could’ve also gone there and accessed it.”

Haney said the places that would be required to carry free Narcan doses are near where there have been a significant number of overdoses that are not in someone’s home.

“These are facilities that are distributed throughout neighborhoods and communities,” Haney said. “Ensuring that, in counties that are experiencing overdose crisis, Narcan is available at these locations would greatly expand access to this life-saving intervention and would absolutely prevent overdoses and save lives.”

Who is included in the bill?

If AB 24 passes and the governor signs it, the state’s health department would decide if Stanislaus receives the Narcan to distribute to locations across the county.

The legislation allows for the California Department of Public Health to decide which counties would be given the Narcan to place in facilities for free, based on metrics including numbers of opioid overdoses.

As it stands now, Stanislaus County would qualify under the bill as experiencing an “opioid overdose crisis,” a representative for Haney confirmed, because it has more than 100-related deaths.

Stanislaus County had 392 emergency-room visits due to opioids in 2021 — a rate four times higher than the more heavily populated Santa Clara County.

The county recorded 108 fatal overdoses the same year.

“There are so many things that we have to do to confront the opioid epidemic,” Haney said. “We have to get more people into treatment. We have to stop these drugs from coming into our state and our communities. Until we cut off fentanyl, we have to, at a minimum, make sure that this lifesaving intervention is available.”

How much it would cost

Funding for the bill would come from the health budget of the state’s general fund, Haney said.

The amount could vary depending on where the California Department of Public Health decides to deploy the Narcan, but Haney estimates it can cost anywhere between $5 million and $25 million.

“The governor put $6 million into the budget so far for naloxone and this could be drawn on to pay for some of these kits to be distributed to these locations,” Haney said. “There hasn’t been a full fiscal analysis of this bill yet because it hasn’t gotten to the budget committee.”

The assemblyman said as far as lifesaving interventions go, Narcan is inexpensive, costing less than $40 per dose. He said it’s likely going to get cheaper now that it’s available over the counter.

“Narcan is highly effective and very cheap when compared to saving the life of a son, a daughter and loved one,” Haney said.

How bill would combat opioid overdoses

AB 24 is based on California’s first-aid kit law and fire extinguisher law, which require businesses to have these two things accessible to employees. Narcan would be another aid tool added to the list of things mandated for some businesses to have.

Opioids find specific receptors in your brain and latch onto them. Narcan is an antagonist, meaning it knocks the opioid off the receptor and clings to it itself.

“Some of these overdoses, the clock starts ticking immediately,” Haney said. “It could be a matter of minutes that makes the difference between life or death.”

The assemblyman said Narcan cannot harm a person, even if he or she is not experiencing an overdose when given the medicine.

He said the law wouldn’t require anyone to administer Narcan. It merely would require it to be at the location in case somebody, whether an employee, a bystander or a friend, needs it.

The kits would include instructions and a poster that has to be displayed with the Narcan, explaining how to administer it. The poster would contain information describing what an overdose looks like and the Narcan would be physically attached to it. The law would not require employees to be trained.

There would be a number to call to refill the Narcan and the Department of Public Health would mail out another dose.

“There’s really no excuse to not have this where people need it,” Haney said. “I think it’s unfair to employees who may want to help to not have this lifesaving intervention available if they do want to help. Nobody is liable if they feel they don’t know what to do.”

What’s next for the bill

The opioid antagonist kits bill is set to be heard by the health committee on April 11.

Witnesses in support of the bill will make their case for why it should be public policy.

Health committee members will then take a vote whether to move it out of the committee.

Haney said he is not aware of any opposition, but opponents will also have the opportunity to testify at the hearing.

“We met with public health experts and academics who work on the issue of overdoses and there was broad agreement that we need to have Narcan much more widely available,” Haney said.

The Bee’s Ken Carlson contributed to this story

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