I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that the United States is in the midst of the worst opioid epidemic in history. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control, the number of Opioid drug overdose deaths increased by nearly thirty percent (30%) from 2019 to 2020 and has quintupled since 1999. Nearly seventy- five percent (75%) of the 91,799 drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid. Experts believe that this staggering number of overdose deaths is based on several factors, including an increase in illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Opioid antagonists, such as naloxone, can be used during emergencies to reverse opioid overdoses and are effective at preventing fatal drug overdoses.

I Liheslatura Guåhan further finds that the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that despite an increase in prescriptions for emergency opioid antagonists, not enough of the medication is getting into the hands of those who need it most while expanding access to emergency opioid antagonists and encouraging citizens of Guam to obtain emergency opioid antagonists are in Guam’s best interests.

I Liheslaturan Guåhan intends to potentially save the lives of individuals who experience an opioid overdose by expanding access to, and availability of, emergency opioid antagonists within the state, address the critical need to provide uniformity in the ability of citizens of Guam to access emergency opioid antagonists, encourage citizens to obtain emergency opioid antagonists, grant immunity to individuals administering opioid antagonists, establish a pilot program for bystander access, and promote initiatives that educate citizens on the life-saving potential of emergency opioid antagonists by enacting the Guam Opioid Overdose Prevention Act of 2023.

SOURCE: Added by P.L. 37-002:1 (Mar. 20, 2023).