SACRAMENTO — State Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, is taking steps to forestall deadly overdoses on California’s public school campuses.
At a press convention on Monday at UC Berkeley, Haney plans to introduce laws known as the Campus Overdose Prevention invoice, which might prohibit California public universities from expelling college students concerned in medical emergencies within the hopes of stopping deadly drug overdoses on campuses.
Haney mentioned the invoice, AB 602, is about “protecting California’s young people,” particularly these coping with habit issues, and those that name 911 to assist save somebody who experiences an overdose. The invoice, as at present proposed, doesn’t prohibit disciplinary motion for individuals who promote medication or alcohol to college students. It will apply to the state’s UC, CSU and group school techniques and stop college students from being punished for calling 911 for drug-related medical incidents.
“What would you want to happen if this was your son or daughter in a medical emergency?” Haney mentioned. “The reality may be that it is a difference of minutes or seconds that can determine whether they survive.”
TJ McGee, a UC Berkeley sophomore, mentioned he’s nonetheless coping with disciplinary motion that might price him his diploma if he steps out of bounds after an on-campus overdose final 12 months. He attends the identical college the place pupil Marco Troper, the son of former YouTube govt Susan Wojcicki, died of an unintended overdose in February final 12 months on campus.
“I just have a microscope on me now,” McGee, 19, mentioned in an interview. “I can’t mess up in any way or there is threat of expulsion, or threat of suspension.”
McGee suffered a seizure in his dorm room whereas experiencing a drug overdose whereas his roommates had been current, he mentioned. Certainly one of his roommates known as 911 and a resident assistant — one other pupil who works on the dorms — was the primary to reply to assist McGee, he mentioned.
“For them, there was for sure worry and fear of getting in trouble,” McGee mentioned. “They felt like they had to choose between staying or leaving.”
McGee known as this response “unethical,” saying he hopes Haney’s proposed invoice would encourage universities to bolster their medical emergency response protocols within the face of hazard.
“People fear the repercussion of hypothetically being found in possession of narcotics of any sort or alcohol of any sort,” McGee said. “This culture of shame is what held me back.”
McGee mentioned that he’ll proceed to be below probation till this December. He and Haney each talked about that the fentanyl epidemic in California, particularly at universities, is getting regularly extra harmful for college students.
Haney mentioned 7,000 Californians since 2022 have died of an overdose. Deaths of individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 have doubled over the previous 5 years, largely due to fentanyl, he mentioned.
“In medical emergencies, you do not want your son or daughter thinking about whether they will be able to stay in school if they call 911,” Haney added. “They should just call 911.”
