Orange County, California – Today, Supervisor Foley and the Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed three state legislative proposals to help address the rising epidemic of fentanyl in the County of Orange. This comes after Supervisor Foley’s Thursday March 3, 2022 public hearing on the Fentanyl crisis in Orange County alongside Chairman Doug Chaffee, that included testimony from law enforcement, public health experts, and members of the public.
“For years, as Mayor of Costa Mesa and - now - as County Supervisor, I’ve advocated for and voiced my concerns about Fentanyl overdose, poisoning, and abuse in Orange County. Fentanyl kills indiscriminately and dealers target our youth with counterfeit prescription drugs like Xanax and other opioids,” said Supervisor Foley. “I am grateful to endorse this legislation and act at a time when fentanyl is the leading cause of death for children 17 and under. As a mom, I’ve mourned with mothers whose children were victims of this sinister and illicit drug practice and our approach to the Fentanyl crisis must prioritize treatment, while also targeting traffickers and holding them responsible.”
The three bills endorsed include:
AB 1673 (Seyarto & Petrie-Norris): California Fentanyl Abuse Task Force –This bill establishes the Anti-Fentanyl Abuse Task Force, which shall be chaired by a designee of the Attorney General. Specified duties to be conducted by the Anti-Fentanyl Abuse Task Force include, among others, collecting and organizing data on the nature and extent of fentanyl abuse in California, evaluating approaches to increase public awareness of fentanyl abuse, and analyzing existing state criminal statutes for their adequacy in addressing fentanyl abuse
AB 1628 (Ramos): Online Platforms: Electronic Content Management: Controlled Substances – This bill requires online platforms operating in California to create and publicly post a policy statement in a manner that is conspicuous to all its users that includes the explicit prohibition on the use of the online platform to illegally distribute a controlled substance, a description of the online platform’s moderation practices that are employed to prevent users from posting or sharing electronic content pertaining to the illegal distribution of a controlled substance; and guidance to mental health resources for users.
AB 1598 (Davies): Controlled Substances: Paraphernalia: Fentanyl Testing – This closes an outdated restriction in state law, which will permit the legal purchasing of fentanyl testing equipment, such as fentanyl test strips, this legislation promotes public health by enabling chemical analysis of drugs by purchasers to determine if they contain any substances or chemicals, including fentanyl or fentanyl analogs, to prevent the mistaken ingestion of fentanyl.
Link to the leg report: http://cams.ocgov.com/Web_Publisher/Agenda03_08_2022_files/images/35-03082022_9857641.PDF
Watch more of our Thursday, March 3, 2022, Fentanyl Hearing: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5wLuzIGPDc)
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Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley joined the Board of Supervisors in 2021. She serves on the Airport Ad Hoc Committee & Fly Friendly working group, and boards of the Orange County Transportation Authority, CalOptima, Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, Law Library, Newport Bay & South Orange County Watershed Management Area Executive Committee & Santa Ana River Flood Control Protection Agency.
