Marinscope
With fentanyl flooding the streets of Marin and a shocking new analysis that shows the drug was responsible for 1 in 5 deaths among Californians aged 15 to 24, the stage is set for lawmakers in Sacramento to take action to curb the growing epidemic.
The Marin Sheriff’s Department busted two people in Richmond this month suspected of selling drugs to people in Marin County. Deputies seized more than 4 pounds of fentanyl when making the arrests. In November, officers arrested two men from Oakland allegedly selling drugs in Marin. Police confiscated over 3 pounds of fentanyl in that case. (See page 4A for the details of the latest arrests.)
Several ideas are on the table this legislative session. One is to enhance prison time for drug dealers selling more than 2 grams of fentanyl. Another would permit convicted drug dealers to be charged with manslaughter or murder for selling fatal doses of fentanyl. Both ideas were rejected in the last session of the Legislature as the Democratic supermajority of lawmakers moved to reduce the state’s prison population and shut down some prisons.
But the recent surge of fentanyl deaths in California’s young first reported in a Mercury News analysis may revive the idea of increased penalties.
Another idea floated this year is to require public K-12 schools to keep on campus Narcan, medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.
Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese of San Jose introduced a bill to create a state framework to prevent youth fentanyl overdoses, including by training school staff to administer Narcan and by asking schools to share overdose prevention information with students and parents.
Fentanyl isn’t the only concern. Four Southern California middle school students apparently overdosed after eating marijuana-laced products last Wednesday, a week after 10 Los Angeles middle schoolers evidently overdosed on cannabis edibles.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week announced nearly $481 million in grants to help overhaul California’s youth mental health system, noting that in the Golden State, “the rates of serious mental illness and substance use disorders are highest for individuals ages 18 to 25, and rates of children and youth experiencing behavioral health conditions, youth emergency department visits for mental health concerns, and youth suicides continue to rise.”
(CalMatters and the Associated Press contributed to this story.)
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