With a death toll of more than 7,000 Californians in 2021, the opioid epidemic has become one of the state’s most vexing issues. The Legislature is considering several minor bills related to fentanyl — including creating an anti-fentanyl-abuse task force and increasing fines for dealers — but Republican lawmakers voice frustration that the state isn’t doing enough to end the drug crisis.
Fentanyl has been at the center of some of the more dramatic moments this session. In April, Democrats avoided efforts by Republican Assemblymembers to force a floor vote on fentanyl bills by agreeing to debate the bills at a later special committee hearing. Days later, residents whose loved ones died from overdoses walked out of the hearing room as the Senate Public Safety Committee debated (and ultimately killed) a bill that would have required giving fentanyl dealers notice that they can be charged with homicide. And in May, a select Assembly committee held a five-hour hearing on fentanyl that included testimony from grieving family members on the verge of tears.
To learn more about what’s driving California’s opioid crisis, CalMatters has a new explainer compiled by CalMatters’ health reporter Ana B. Ibarra, data reporter Erica Yee and justice reporter Nigel Duara.
Together, they dive into several aspects, including:
What makes fentanyl so dangerous: The drug is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. And depending on a person’s body size and tolerance,...
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