As California tackles its fentanyl crisis, two new laws will be taking effect in January that will make drugs that reverse the effects of opioid overdoses easier to access in certain places and updates the so-called good Samaritan law to include those who administer anti-overdose medication.  

Opioid antagonists such as naloxone are administered to people suspected of overdosing. Naloxone — known mostly by the commercial nasal spray container that administrates it called Narcan — binds to opioid receptors in the body and blocks the effects of drugs like heroin, morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl.  

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Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.