Senate bill 767: The Drug overdose treatment liability Act

 

Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) is very happy to announce that Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas
(26th District) has agreed to author a lifesaving bill in the California legislature. SB 767 protects doctors, health professionals, patients, and their friends and family members who provide opiate antagonists, including naloxone, to those who need it. Naloxone (also known as Narcan®) is a medication used in opiate overdose (for example, heroin and morphine overdose) that allows someone overdosing to breathe normally again. Clinicians are concerned about civil or criminal liability if a patient uses his or her naloxone on someone else. Because of this concern there aren’t enough clinicians willing to prescribe naloxone for all the agencies that want to incorporate overdose programs into their services, but there will be once SB 767 passes.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS

 

·            Drug overdose is the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States and the leading cause of death in California’s opioid using population.

·            I support SB 767, the Drug Overdose Treatment Liability Act, because it protects medical providers who prescribe naloxone to their patients, encourages more providers to prescribe naloxone, and protects patients who may use this lifesaving medication on someone else experiencing an overdose.

·            Naloxone is a legal, nonscheduled, prescription medication used to counter the effects of opioid overdose, for example morphine and heroin overdose. It counteracts life-threatening depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems, allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally. Naloxone only works if a person has opioids in their system; the medication has no effect if opioids are absent.

·            New York, New Mexico, and Connecticut have all enacted legislation to address the issue of health care provider and third party liability as it applies to opiate antagonists, like naloxone. California must follow their lead to reduce deaths from overdose in our state.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION & MORE ON NALOXONE

 

Naloxone (also known as Narcan®) is a medication used to counter the effects of opioid overdose, for example morphine and heroin overdose. Specifically, naloxone counteracts life-threatening depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems, allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally. Naloxone is a nonscheduled (i.e., non-addictive) prescription medication with the same level of regulation as prescription ibuprofen. It only works if a person has opioids in their system; the medication has no effect if opioids are absent. Although traditionally administered by emergency response personnel, naloxone can be administered by minimally trained laypeople, which makes it ideal for treating overdose in people who have been prescribed opioid pain medication and in people who use heroin and other illicit opioids.

 

In most jurisdictions naloxone is only available to people experiencing overdose when emergency medical services are summoned. However, recognizing that many fatal opioid overdoses are preventable, a number of jurisdictions in California and throughout the United States are providing overdose prevention, recognition, and response training, including training in calling 911, rescue breathing and take-home prescriptions of naloxone, to drug users and their loved ones.

 

Studies indicate that many victims of opioid overdoses never receive proper medical attention because their peers and other witnesses (who are often drug users themselves) do not call 911, for fear of police involvement (Pollini et al, 2005; Tobin et al, 2005; Davidson et al, 2003; Seal et al, 2003; Strang et al, 2000). While not all opioid overdoses are fatal, the provision of naloxone to those who would otherwise not receive it could save hundreds of lives each year. Additionally, timely provision of naloxone may help reduce some of the morbidities associated with non-fatal overdose. Witnesses who are able to provide rescue breathing and naloxone to an overdose victim experiencing respiratory depression will likely prevent brain damage in the victim (brain damage begins within 3-5 minutes after someone stops breathing).

 

 

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This Action Alert is brought to you by the Harm Reduction Coalition, a national advocacy and capacity-building organization that promotes the health and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by drug use and the "war on drugs." HRC advances policies and programs that help people address the adverse effects of drug use including overdose, HIV, hepatitis C, addiction, and incarceration. We recognize that the structures of social inequality impact the lives and options of affected communities differently, and work to uphold every individual's right to health and well-being by supporting their competence to care for themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. For more information on the Harm Reduction Coalition, visit www.harmreduction.org.

 

 

SB 767: OVERDOSE TREATMENT LIABILITY ACT

SAMPLE LETTER OF ENDORSEMENT

 

<Print on organizational letterhead>

 

 

 

SB 767: Endorsement
 
 


MONTH DAY, 2007                                                                                                

 

Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas

State Capitol, Room 4061

Sacramento, CA 95814

 

 

Dear Senator Ridley-Thomas,

 

<ORGANIZATION> is pleased to offer our organizational endorsement for SB 767, the Overdose Treatment Liability Act, because it protects medical providers who prescribe opiate antagonists, like naloxone, to their patients, encourages more providers to prescribe naloxone, and protects patients who may use this lifesaving medication on someone else experiencing an overdose.

 

Naloxone (also known as Narcan®) is a legal, nonscheduled, prescription medication used in opiate overdose (for example, heroin and morphine overdose) that allows someone overdosing to breathe normally again. Naloxone only works if a person has opioids in their system; the medication has no effect if opioids are absent. Clinicians are concerned about civil or criminal liability if a patient uses his or her naloxone on someone else. Because of this concern there are not enough clinicians willing to prescribe naloxone for all the agencies that want to incorporate overdose programs into their services, but there will be once SB 767 passes.

 

<INSERT ANYTHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT HOW OVERDOSE AFFECTS YOUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS/CLIENTS/PATIENTS/PARTCIPANTS, HOW THIS BILL WILL HELP THEM, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT>

 

Drug overdose is the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States and the leading cause of death in California’s opioid using population. SB 767 is an important step toward reducing deaths from overdose in our state. Thank you for your leadership on this issue.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

<Executive Director or other authorized agent of the organization>