BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1535 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 1535 (Bloom) - As Amended: April 1, 2014 Policy Committee: Business and Professions Vote: 14-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill permits a pharmacist to furnish naloxone hydrochloride (NH) pursuant to standardized procedures and protocols developed and approved jointly by the California Board of Pharmacy (BOP) and the Medical Board of California (MBC). FISCAL EFFECT 1)Minor one-time costs, under $100,000, to the MBC and to the BOP to jointly develop standardized procedures and protocols and related training and educational content. 2)Ongoing costs to both boards for enforcement are likely to be minor and absorbable. COMMENTS 1)Purpose . This bill allows a pharmacist to furnish NH to a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose or to a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist a person experiencing or reasonably suspected of experiencing an overdose, pursuant to standardized procedures or protocols developed and approved by BOP and MBC. According to the author, allowing pharmacists to furnish NH will enable the wider distribution of a safe, easy-to-administer and life-saving drug in accordance with recommendations from the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This bill is sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and supported by numerous public health and substance abuse organizations, as well as the MBC and BOP. AB 1535 Page 2 2)Background . The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have skyrocketed over the past decade, with the majority of these deaths caused by opioid pain relievers. According to the federal Food and Drug Administration, NH is a safe medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose. Because it blocks opioid receptors, injection with NH is potentially life-savings for someone experiencing an overdose but causes no noticeable clinical effect if a person is not experiencing an overdose. Earlier this month, FDA announced approval of a naloxone auto-injector device for layperson use. Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081