Between 2019 and 2021, drug overdoses became the third most common cause of death for American children and teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An average of 22 adolescents died of drug overdose in the U.S. every week in 2022, the CDC reports.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid-related deaths in California increased 121 percent from 2019 to 2021, according to the state's health department. The vast majority of these deaths were linked to fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.
Assemblymember Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, who chairs the committee, said: "It is not a political issue. It is not one that affects only certain areas, not rural, not suburban, not urban. It's not a San Francisco problem. It is a problem that is affecting our entire state."
The committee heard from youth overdose prevention organizations, health experts, researchers and parents of teenagers who died from taking drugs laced with fentanyl. It focused on the impact of social media and the need to boost education on the dangers of opioids in elementary schools.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said providing more educational awareness, training and access to the lifesaving drug, nalaxone, would help schools deal with the fentanyl crisis.
The state has taken several steps to counteract the crisis by teaching youth about the risks of fentanyl-laced drugs through public schools.
Last year, Melanie's Law was signed into law. It requires all middle and high schools to develop a plan to prevent and respond to fentanyl overdoses.
