IRVINE- Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), District Attorney Todd Spitzer and local law enforcement and elected officials held a press conference to discuss the impact of the Fentanyl crisis in Orange County and the Assemblywoman’s legislation to respond to this dangerous epidemic.
“Addressing the Fentanyl crisis has been one of my top priorities because as a mom, this absolutely scares me. This drug is ravaging our communities every day and kids are dying,” said Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris. “The Fentanyl epidemic is an urgent public health crisis, and we must act with real urgency to stop these tragic deaths. We need a comprehensive approach that includes more money for drug treatment, rehabilitation and education. We also need stronger enforcement - online traffickers who are poisoning our kids must be held accountable.”
“The Fentanyl epidemic is one of the most serious health and safety issues facing California,” said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. “An important part of the solution to end this crisis is stopping the use of social media platforms to illegally sell drugs to our kids. Legislation like AB 955 and AB 1027 will strengthen our laws and help law enforcement hold drug traffickers accountable.”
Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous and deadly drugs circulating on the illegal drug market - just 2 milligrams, or the equivalent of two grains of salt, is enough to kill. According to the California Department of Public Health, statewide fentanyl deaths increased from 239 deaths in 2016 to 3,946 in 2020. In California, 71% of all opioid related deaths in 2020 were a result of Fentanyl poisoning.
Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris has introduced two bills to help address this deadly trend. AB 1027 will add to the list of information that must be posted on a social media platforms’ policy statement a general description of their policy on the categories of information that the social media platform releases and how long the platform retains the information. AB 955 would increase penalties applied to those convicted of fentanyl sales by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of 3, 6, or 9 years.
The Assemblywoman also launched the statewide rollout of the DEA’s Fentanyl awareness campaign, “One Pill Can Kill,” to educate the public about the dangers of Fentanyl. Elements will include how to recognize Fentanyl, how get help in the event of an overdose, and highlight the severity of ingesting even a miniscule amount. The awareness campaign can be found at https://a73.asmdc.org/end-fentanyl-poisoning.