A bill by North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) helping to address the opioid crisis passed the Legislature on Thursday and is headed to the governor’s desk.
The bill, AB 2760, would require some patients who are prescribed opioid treatments to also receive a prescription for naloxone, a medication used to reverse overdoses.
“It’s designed to save lives and requires a prescriber of controlled substances to offer a co-prescription for naloxone to patients at high risk and provides an opportunity to discuss treatment for substance use disorder,” Wood tweeted Thursday after it passed successfully thorough the Legislature.
The final Assembly concurrence vote was 66-0.
“There were 1,882 deaths due to opioid overdose in California last year — 28 of the people we lost lived in Humboldt County,” said Wood in an email. “Those 28 people were daughters, sons, mothers and fathers whose families will suffer that loss forever. AB 2760 is a bill I authored this year to require prescribers to offer a co-prescription of naloxone — an opioid overdose antidote — with any opioid prescription. We need to create this opportunity for prescribers and their patients to have this important discussion – one that could save a life.”
According to California Department of Public Health Data, there were 135,617 prescriptions for opioids in Humboldt County — that means for every 1,000 residents of the county, there are 988 prescriptions. That’s a drop from 2016, when there were more prescriptions than residents in the county.
But there is clearly more work to be done — Humboldt County has the second highest rate of opioid overdoses in all 58 counties in the state. The state average is 4.8 deaths per 100,000 residents. Humboldt County’s rate is more than four times that rate with 20.99 deaths per 100,000 residents.
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services said the bill will help fight the high local rates of overdoses.
“With such a high overdose rate, anything we can do to decrease that is very important,” said Dana Murguia, a senior program manager for the Healthy Communities Division of the Public Health Branch. “Saving someone from an overdose is the first step to getting them into long-term treatment.”
Fourth District Humboldt County Supervisor agreed the bill could be useful in this area.
“While some may consider this to be enabling an individual, the fact of the matter is that it’s another tool to fight opioid usage in our community,” she said in an email. “Quite frankly, we need all the tools we can get.”
She noted that the bill targets those who are most at risk of overdose.
“I hope people recognize that an overdose can happen to anyone … just ask the coroner and our health officer, Dr. [Donald] Baird,” she said.
She added that having an overdose reversal drug can be helpful for more than those who are prescribed pain medication in the short-term.
“Whether someone recovering from surgery or is addicted, it is important to have medication at hand that can reverse a possible overdose,” she said. “Educating the household versus just the individual is important so that family members recognize the signs of overdose and can step in with naloxone, if necessary.”
North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), who has held multiple town halls in Eureka to address the issue, supported Wood’s bill.
“The opioid crisis has impacted communities big and small across America and right here at home on the North Coast, affecting families from all backgrounds,” he said in an emailed statement. “California is among the states leading the nation in opioid-related overdoses. Assemblymember Wood’s bill will help save lives and it’s a practical solution to combat this crisis.”
Ruth Schneider can be reached at 707-441-0520.
