Sacramento – Senate Costs 57, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), passed the Assembly by a vote of 42-28. It will now return to the Senate for a concurrence vote– the costs formerly passed the Senate however was changed in the Assembly– and then will go to the Guv’s desk to be signed.
SB 57 legislates overdose prevention programs, likewise called safe consumption sites or safe injection sites, as pilot programs in San Francisco, Oakland, the City of Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County. The City Board or Board of Supervisors of each pilot jurisdiction has actually asked for to be consisted of in the legislation, and each will choose in your area whether to take part and to what degree. SB 57 merely eliminates the state restriction that presently makes such programs unlawful. SB 57 is a pilot program that will run for 5 years, through January 1, 2028.
” Every overdose death is avoidable,” stated Senator Wiener. “We have the tools to end these deaths, get people healthy, and minimize damage for people whouse drugs Today, we are letting people pass away on our streets for no factor besides an approximate legal restriction that we require to eliminate. SB 57 is long past due, and will make a substantial effect for some of the most susceptible people in our community.”
Because the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, overdoses and substance use in general have actually increased considerably. For instance, San Francisco saw a record number of overdose deaths in 2020, with 711 deaths amount to. In 2021, 640 people passed away of overdoses. San Francisco is unfortunately on track to satisfy or surpass these numbers in 2022. Nationally, 100,000 people passed away of drug overdoses from April 2020 to April 2021, consisting of roughly 10,000 people in California. This is a public health crisis, and it is avoidable.
Overdose prevention programs– which have actually been in presence for years in Europe, Canada, and Australia, with shown success– are monitored centers where those utilizing drugs intravenously or otherwise can do so more securely, with the objective of transitioning them intorecovery programs In the years that over 170 centers have actually been open in other parts of the world, not one overdose death has actually taken place in one of them. Most just recently, New york city City opened 2 safe consumption sites, and in the very first 3 months of operation, staff at these sites were able to stop over 150 overdoses.
Over an 18-month research study duration of Insite, a safe consumption website in Vancouver, 336 overdoses were reported– however in every circumstances, the individual overdosing lived. This is due to the fact that there were trained professionals onsite to administer live conserving treatments like Narcan, and getpeople emergency help Research studies likewise recommend that overdose prevention programs minimize the problem on emergency services– like ambulances and emergency spaces– that typically react to overdose occasions.
Current research studies of an unauthorized overdose prevention program likewise recommend that there is no boost in criminal offense, violence, or drug trafficking in locations surrounding theseprograms Criminal offense really reduced in these locations. Research studies likewise reveal that overdose prevention programs lead to less injection-related litter, like dropped syringes.
Trained professionals provide those who check out overdose prevention programs with tidy needles, have products such as Narcan on hand to help in the case of an overdose, and might have screening strips for fentanyl and other possibly deadly drug ingredients. Research studies reveal that these programs prevent overdose deaths and help those having a hard time with substance use disorder get linked to treatment and other services. In addition, overdose prevention programs are an crucial damage decrease step that help restrict the spread of communicable diseases, like HIV and Liver Disease C, through intravenousdrug use They likewise minimize criminal offense and syringe litter in the surrounding location and offer those who use drugs the capability to prevent utilizing in public areas. Overdose prevention programs likewise ease pressure on hospital emergency spaces.
This legislation has actually been presented several times, and it passed the legislature in 2018 in a previous kind. It was banned in 2018 by then-Governor Jerry Brown. The legalization of overdose prevention programs has broad assistance from the management of San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles County, along with public health and addiction treatment leaders.
The following companies are co-sponsoring SB 57: Drug Policy Alliance, San Francisco AIDS Structure, California Society of Addiction Medicine, National Damage Decrease Union, Healthright 360, Tarzana Treatment Center, and the California Association of Alcohol & & Drug Program Executives.