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This month, Oklahoma took a meaningful step forward in the fight against the fentanyl crisis. Senate Bill 65, which HarborPath was proud to support, was signed into law, clearing the way for any person, school, university, business, or community organization in Oklahoma to legally possess, distribute, and administer naloxone and other emergency opioid antagonists.
Most overdoses happen in front of someone who could help if they had naloxone within arm's reach and the confidence to act. This law gives Oklahomans both. It means rescue kits in dorms, schools, stadiums, and workplaces, and it protects the people who step in to save a life. This is a major win.
It is also a reminder of what sustained, focused advocacy can accomplish.
While our team was advocating for SB 65 in Oklahoma, the HarborPath Policy Council has been hard at work on other key issues in additional states, including Pennsylvania, where we are supporting House Bill 1442, also known as Morgan Rose's Law. Morgan Rose Hosbach was a 23-year-old from Delaware County who died from SUDEP in 2022. She had been diagnosed at age three and was under the care of a medical team her family trusted, yet neither Morgan nor her parents were ever told about SUDEP or its risk factors. HB 1442 would require Pennsylvania coroners to evaluate autopsies involving epilepsy or seizure for SUDEP and to record it accurately on the death certificate when found. Better data leads to better research. Better research leads to better awareness and prevention.
Underserved issues require focused champions. Whether the cause is overdose prevention, SUDEP education, or any of the other issues that HarborPath and the HarborPath Policy Council are built to advance, our work is grounded in one simple belief: information and access save lives.
We are grateful to the Oklahoma legislators who delivered SB 65.
-Ken Trogdon, President of HarborPath
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