Combating the heroin epidemic

Assemblymember Marie Waldron

AD-75 (R)

My Assembly Bill 182, the Heroin and Opioid Public Education (HOPE) Act, will combat the growth of heroin and opioid abuse throughout California. Heroin, a cheaper equivalent to opioids, has become widely available, and California is now ground zero in this escalating epidemic.

Heroin use has increased in all age groups and all income levels. Use of the drug has more than doubled for young adults ages 18-25 in recent years. Opioid-related deaths, including prescription medication, have become the third-largest cause of accidental deaths in the U.S. But th...