SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California lawmakers have advanced 10 opioid-related bills in an effort to curb drug addiction in the state.
Half of the bills passed by a legislative committee Tuesday would increase monitoring or make it easier to track opioid prescriptions to help police and doctors spot fraudulent or inappropriate prescriptions.
One would let California share prescription records with other states. It’s aimed at making it easier to identify patients who cross state lines to get more opioid prescriptions.
The bills still require approval by the full Assembly and Senate before they can advance to Gov. Jerry Brown.
In California more than 2,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016. Lawmakers say the problem is particularly bad in rural areas of the state.
