California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week.
Legislators in the Assembly and Senate debated measures on Wednesday as they tried to wrap up several hundred pieces of legislation before Friday — the last day a bill can pass out of its original chamber and get a chance to become law later this year.
Fentanyl overdoses are killing roughly 110 Californians each week, officials said, and lawmakers are divided on how best to stem the crisis.
Some Democratic lawmakers support policies that focus on education, prevention and treatment, while Republicans and more moderate Democrats want more enforcement against fentanyl dealers.
State lawmakers across the country, including in Democratic-controlled legislatures such as Oregon and Nevada, have also considered harsher penalties on drug dealers — a tactic that many say would backfire.
But the majority of 16 fentanyl bills that advanced this past week in California focused on education, prevention and treatment of fentanyl overdose.
One would require public places such as schools, stadiums and concert venues to carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses. States that have made naloxone accessible, such as Massachusetts, are seeing a drop in overdose deaths, said Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino of Burbank, who authored the bill.
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