Opioid Crisis

Signing up for substance use disorder treatment in California prisons involves taking more frequent drug tests. The results, which are prone to error, can set back a prisoner's chance for freedom.

Instead of pushing harm reduction strategies to reduce drug overdoses, a county district attorney believes a recently approved ballot measure, Proposition 36, strikes the right balance to break the cycles fueling addiction and homelessness.

Funding given to California communities to address substance use disorder should be used for that — not for more policing, but for community centers, treatment centers, expanded access to reversal agents, and improved data to track progress.

California voters will soon decide whether to reclassify certain theft and drug penalties under Proposition 36. A formerly homeless man who misused drugs and was arrested for theft believes the ballot initiative will rightly restore accountability and compassion.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals will sell the state fentanyl overdose medication at a discounted rate under a new contract. Separately, it’s paying states to settle claims that it contributed to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

In rapid-fire votes in suspense file hearings, lawmakers determined the fate of hundreds of bills on crime, transgender students and more.

Thousands of Californians died from opioid overdoses in 2021. In response, many communities are making it easier to obtain life-saving overdose reversal drugs while some families are calling for tougher criminal penalties for fentanyl dealers.

To reduce the death toll of the opioid epidemic, California Assemblymember Liz Ortega wants health insurers to cover the costs of Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an overdose. Of course, increasing access comes with a price tag.

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 […]

Expect a lot of debate over how California should respond to the state’s mounting fentanyl epidemic when state lawmakers return to Sacramento early next year. Bills dealing with the super-powerful synthetic opioid are already piling up, many of them focused on youth in the wake of a stunning analysis that found fentanyl was responsible for […]