California Lawmakers, Families Walk out in Frustration During First Hearing of New Fentanyl Committee

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento on April 18, 2022. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

With the fentanyl crisis causing more than 100 deaths a week in California, lawmakers met on May 24 for the first-ever hearing of a newly created committee on overdose prevention, with some lawmakers and family members walking out in frustration during the proceedings.

“This hearing, 80 percent of the time, was saying we care more about the dealers than the victims,” committee member Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) told The Epoch Times while the hearing was underway.