Personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal systems.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Greg Wallis

AB 1394 would fund and run a statewide program to distribute personal opioid deactivation and disposal systems to households to safely render opioids nonretrievable.

Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

#personalopioiddrugdeactivationanddisposalsystems

Purpose / intent

AB 1394 would create a statewide program (subject to legislative appropriation) to reduce misuse, diversion, and fatal overdose from opioids by funding the distribution of personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal systems to individuals. The program aims to encourage safe, nonretrievable disposal of unused or expired opioid medicines and promote environmentally responsible disposal practices.

Key provisions

Adds Part 6.23 (Section 1179.803) to the Health and Safety Code.

Directs the State Department of Public Health (CDPH), subject to appropriation, to establish and administer a statewide program that awards funding to:

Local health departments and local government agencies; and
On a competitive basis, community‑based organizations and regional opioid prevention coalitions.

Requires CDPH to do all of the following when implementing the program:

Establish guidelines for evidence‑based, environmentally safe, and effective use of personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal systems.
Provide an online portal through which individuals can request an initial and any additional personal opioid disposal system.
Prioritize communities disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis when distributing resources.
Deliver, via the U.S. Postal Service, a disposal system with an enclosed educational/informational card to households in localities deemed at highest risk.

Defines “personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal system” as a portable product designed for a patient’s personal use to permanently render a prescribed opioid drug nonretrievable and non‑abusable.

Who would be affected

Individuals and households with unused or expired prescription opioids (primary beneficiaries).

Local health departments, local government agencies, community‑based organizations, and regional opioid prevention coalitions (eligible to receive program funding or grants).

CDPH (program administrator).

Indirectly: public health systems, first‑responder overdose prevention efforts, and environmental/waste management by reducing improper pharmaceutical disposal.

Fiscal and procedural notes

The program is subject to an appropriation by the Legislature; no funding is authorized until appropriated.

The bill was referred repeatedly to the Assembly Committee on Health (introduced 2/21/2025; most recent action 4/2/2025).

The Digest notes a fiscal committee referral; appropriation is required for implementation.

Observations / implementation considerations

The effectiveness depends on funding levels, design of evidence‑based guidelines, outreach to prioritized communities, and supply/distribution logistics.

The statutory definition focuses on prescribed opioids; the bill’s brief references to “illicit opioids” in the digest may be narrower in the operative text.

The program includes both direct household distribution (mail) and a request portal, allowing both targeted and on‑demand access.

Bill