Opinion: California’s Inexcusable Resistance to Stronger Opioid Overdose Treatments

In April 2020, I discovered my 16-year-old son, Daniel, unconscious in his mattress. 

He had overdosed on a counterfeit Oxycodone capsule that he bought on Snapchat. It was spiked with fentanyl. Just a few days later, Daniel’s mom and I have been compelled to decide that no father or mother ought to ever face: we eliminated our son from life help. 

There are not any phrases to explain the agony that I and much too many different dad and mom have skilled. 

America’s opioid epidemic is extra lethal than ever. Spurred by the proliferation of fentanyl and different highly-potent artificial painkillers, greater than 100,000 individuals died from an opioid overdose over a one-year span after Daniel’s loss of life, in accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. Sadly, overdose deaths surged 48% p.c over an analogous interval statewide, representing the fifth-highest improve within the nation. 

The mounting toll calls for swift and decisive motion from our authorities. To date, California shouldn’t be doing sufficient to stop overdose deaths.

The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration final 12 months permitted a double-strength naloxone product, Kloxxado, to assist counteract stronger medicine like fentanyl, which is as much as 50 occasions stronger than heroin and 100 occasions stronger than morphine. Naloxone is a drugs that quickly reverses an opioid overdose, and has helped revive numerous overdose victims by restoring their respiratory. Double-strength naloxone is run in the very same means as conventional nasal spray naloxone, and carries the identical warnings and precautions.  

Helped partly by federal grants, California distributes free naloxone to first responders, group organizations, faculties and well being care suppliers. Many reportedly use a number of doses to revive somebody, spurring efforts to increase overdose reversal remedies to incorporate Kloxxado. A wide selection of stakeholders have launched a letter-writing marketing campaign, hosted academic boards and even testified on the Legislature to boost consciousness.

Sadly, the California Division of Well being Care Providers and state leaders have declined to incorporate stronger naloxone remedies of their applications, needlessly placing the lives of Californians at larger threat. It’s inexcusable that authorities officers refuse to make the most of each instrument accessible to confront this epidemic.  

Since my son’s unfathomable loss of life, I’ve devoted my life to making sure that different dad and mom wouldn’t have to undergo the identical sort of tragedy that my household has skilled. By way of this work, I’ve met and labored with numerous different dad and mom who misplaced youngsters to fentanyl, which has been an unlucky blessing. 

An vital piece of our work is guaranteeing that the state officers do their half to get the fitting overdose reversal instruments into the palms of people who want them most. I do know all too nicely that that is really a matter of life and loss of life.  

California should make double-strength naloxone accessible earlier than extra households expertise the unspeakable tragedy that mine lives with day-after-day. The state’s inaction within the face of a historic epidemic is unconscionable. 

Jaime Puerta is a Marine veteran and CEO of Puerta & Associates Inc., a small language deciphering enterprise. Puerta based VOID and cofounded Dealing with Fentanyl to scale back overdose deaths in California and honor his son’s reminiscence. The creator wrote this for CalMatters, a public curiosity journalism enterprise dedicated to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it issues.