Fighting fentanyl: how California leadership can protect our children

OPINION – California’s overdose crisis has ignited fear in the hearts of parents across the state. The thought of our youth being exposed to substances like fentanyl causes anxiety and concern.

I understand this fear as my two sons struggled for decades with substance use disorder. As their mother, I have always felt it’s my duty to protect them and ensure that there are services available to allow them to heal and recover. Now, they are both in long-term recovery from heroin addiction and work as drug and alcohol counselors. Today, heroin has been replaced by fentanyl, which is 50 – 100 times stronger, and counterfeit pills in the drug supply. These more potent drugs have increased the number of people dying tragically from accidental overdose.

Even celebrity parents like country music star Jelly Roll have voiced their concerns, and testified in Congress about the dangers of fentanyl. This issue isn’t just about statistics or headlines—it’s about the safety and well-being of our children. As the Co-Founder and Executive Director for

A New PATH and Moms United, I have worked firsthand with families that are ready to take a stand to better protect our children and loved ones. While Jelly Roll is right to raise awareness, the answer is a public health response and more resources for harm reduction services and treatment, not a criminal justice approach, as decades of evidence show that drug war tactics don’t reduce harms or save lives.

While Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health have taken steps to address the overdose crisis through the statewide standing order for naloxone, it’s clear that this alone is not sufficient. According to the state’s dashboard, nearly 7,000 people died from overdoses in 2022; 87% of those deaths involved fentanyl. Combine these statistics with research from UCLA Health that found an average of 22 teenagers aged 14 to 18 lost their lives each week, primarily due to the availability of prescription pills laced with fentanyl, indicates a need for a more comprehensive harm reduction response.

I’m tired of witnessing so many lives lost far too soon, so we must do more. California’s frontline workers, including schools and teachers, should be equipped with every tool at their disposal to reverse an overdose when a crisis hits. I firmly believe that every person in this country should carry naloxone, a safe drug that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose. But, since it is limited in reversing fentanyl-related overdoses due to its short duration of action, we need a more diversified toolkit if we are going to make progress against this deadly epidemic. Stronger drugs like nitazene continue to emerge and precious lives hang in the balance, so we cannot afford to overlook any potential solution.

The California Department of Public Health must lead the charge in addressing this issue. I believe it is time for California to provide access to all FDA-approved opioid reversal medications, not just naloxone. Our children are at risk of losing their lives due to fentanyl use, yet our state is limiting the tools at our disposal.

As parents, we have a powerful voice in advocating for the safety of our children and future generations. We cannot continue to stand by while our communities are ravaged by the opioid overdose crisis. We must demand action from our leaders and ensure that they prioritize the health and wellbeing of our children and our communities above all else.

Gretchen Burns Bergman is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing) and Lead Organizer of Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign.