Substance Use
Navigating the Opioid Crisis in California: The Role of Naloxone Access Laws Shutong Huo* Shutong Huo Abhery Das Zongbo Li Tim Allen Bruckner
Background: To address the rising opioid overdose deaths, California implemented AB 2760 in January 2019. The policy mandated providers to offer naloxone prescriptions alongside opioid prescriptions as a means of reversing potential opioid overdoses. This study aims to evaluate whether AB 2760 corresponds with a reduction in opioid-related overdose deaths.
Methods: We obtained data from the National Vital Statistics System from 2008 to 2019 to calculate monthly prescription opioid-related overdose deaths, prescription opioid-related deaths without involving synthetic opioids, synthetic opioid deaths (i.e., fentanyl), and any opioid deaths in California. We utilized a binary indicator for months before (0) and after (1) policy implementation (Jan. 2019). We generated time series models for outcomes, which incorporated synthetic controls of California based on unexposed states.
Results: Despite the legislation’s aim to mitigate opioid overdoses, findings demonstrate an alarming increase in any opioid-related overdose, as well as prescription opioid-related overdose deaths (including synthetic opioids), after the policy’s implementation in January 2019. There were 78.31 more opioid-related deaths (p<0.01) and 67.15 more prescription opioid (including synthetic opioids) deaths (p<0.01) per month above expected, which means 943.72 more deaths due to any opioid and 805.8 more deaths due to prescription opioids in 2019. Exploratory analyses reveal that California’s co-prescribing policy corresponds with an increase in synthetic opioid-related deaths, in particular, but not prescription opioid-related deaths without involving synthetic opioids.
Conclusion: Our analysis shows that AB 2760 may not mitigate the trends in fentanyl-related deaths following the 2019 state policy. Our results highlight the need for more comprehensive, targeted interventions, especially addressing the fentanyl epidemic, to effectively combat the opioid crisis in California.
