Newsom signs bill pushing for Narcan in workplace first aid kits
Workplaces in California could eventually be required to stock their first aid kits with naloxone or another medication that can stop an opioid overdose under a bill signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Naloxone, commonly sold under the brand name Narcan, can prevent someone from dying of an opioid overdose if administered promptly by a bystander. The medicine binds to the same receptors in the brain as opioids such as fentanyl, which allows the medicine to displace the opioids and reverse their effects. Assembly Bill 1976 requires California regulators to craft rules requiring first aid kits in workplaces to contain naloxone or any similar medication approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Such a proposal would have to go before a state board for possible adoption by Dec. 1, 2028. The bill was proposed by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) and supported by the California Emergency Nurses Assn. and a long list of law enforcement groups. Haney argued that it would dramatically increase the accessibility of naloxone, enabling more lives to be saved. “If fentanyl continues to be more accessible than naloxone, we’re going