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Opinion: Fentanyl cannot be resolved by returning to prison, as law enforcement voices

Posted by Sara Cooper | Nov 27, 2023 | 0 Comments

Currently, law enforcement has gotten more trainings and are required to follow certain measures in how to handle and recognize fentanyl. A “glassy” look for example, is the combination of heroin and fentanyl. Fentanyl can also come in a white powder form too, and other mixtures are no longer a rare instance. Police officers are now blaming state laws for the increase of fentanyl usage and overdose, claiming that Proposition 47 that was a law passed back in 2014, reducing the prison populations around the state, including releasing those with crimes such as drug possession and other nonviolent misdemeanors. Returning back to prison would be applied to those that have prior strikes, if they were arrested for possession of fentanyl as an example. While the crisis of fentanyl hasn’t become easier for law enforcement, it doesn’t mean punishment isn’t excluded from the picture. Living on the streets can still be criminalized, and treatment centers are either at full capacity or are not affordable to obtain services from. The solution that law enforcement highly demands on is to put people into or back to prison doesn’t truly resolve any aspect of the drug epidemic. The drug will still exist, and it will harm communities if it isn’t prevented to be stopped in using or selling. I don’t know any other solutions other than funding from city to state budgets actually being invested into resources that are on the ground in helping those that are at risk of these high intensity situations, and not just displacing them from one place to another. Law enforcement insisting that laws are to blame for the crisis is pretty reductive, and it goes further into just not be equitable for prison.

CA Gun Owners' Personal Information Shared with Researchers Continues as Legal under Ruled Law

Posted by Sara Cooper | Nov 27, 2023 | 0 Comments

Last Friday, an appeals court in California ruled that the state is still able to share gun owners’ personal information with researchers who focus on gun violence. California's Department of Justice has been given permission to give identification information that is compiled by the state from the background check process that each gun owner is required to do by law. The data is given to qualified research institutions, and there are 4 million gun owners in California. Authorization of this law, AB 173, was passed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021, according to The Associated Press. California's DOJ was permitted to share "names, addresses, phone numbers, and any criminal records, among other things" under the new regulation, said by The Modesto Bee. “The court’s decision is a victory in our ongoing efforts to prevent gun violence,” Bonta said in a November 20 media release. “AB 173’s information-sharing serves the important goal of enabling research that supports informed policymaking aimed at reducing and preventing firearm violence," Bonta said in the statement. "Research and data are vital in our efforts to prevent gun violence in California and provide a clear path to help us save lives." “The court’s decision is an important victory for science,” Garen Wintemute, who heads up the California Firearm Violence Research Center at University of California, said in a statement. “For more than 30 years, researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere have used the data in question to conduct vital research that simply couldn’t be done anywhere else," Wintemute said. "We’re glad to be able to return to that important work, which will improve health and safety here in California and across the country.”

SAG-AFTRA Reaches Tentative Deal with Hollywood Studios

Posted by Sara Cooper | Nov 09, 2023 | 0 Comments

SAG-AFTRA has officially ended their 118-day strike after reaching a tentative agreement with Hollywood executives. Many films and shows were not able to be marketed or publicly discussed by those in the union, and the picket lines never stopped during this period of demanding for the bare minimu...

Surge in Child Labor: Poultry Processors Are A Key Player

Posted by Sara Cooper | Nov 03, 2023 | 0 Comments

Over 5,700 minors have been hired and employed illegally since 2020 with more than 900 companies, according to the data provided by the Department of Labor. This was a highly concentrated disaster within poultry companies in California. Exclusive, Valtierra, and Meza, three poultry facilities, w...

Reproductive Loss Paid Leave under SB 848 Now Passed in CA

Posted by Sara Cooper | Nov 01, 2023 | 0 Comments

California has set it off they will be providing protective leave for miscarriage, stillbirth, and other types of loss. SB 848 will require that employers will need to give their workers five days of leave that are experiencing “reproductive loss.” Reproductive loss includes: miscarriage, stillb...

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