As the number of fentanyl-related deaths continues to skyrocket, one of the most effective treatments for opioid addiction is also one of the hardest to access. California California has among the United States' most restrictive laws when it comes to prescribing methadone, according to one state lawmaker who is now working to make it the most accessible. "It is shocking this is still on the books at this point," said San Diegan Gretchen Burns Bergman, who added that the state's decades-old laws regulating methadone, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms, are leading to more and more overdose deaths. "It's insane given the crisis that we're in, losing so many lives," she told CBS 8. Opioid overdose deaths in California have increased dramatically in recent years, with nearly 7,400 deaths by the end of 2022. As founder of the non-profit A New Path, or Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing, Bergman credits methadone for saving her own son's life. MORE: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/california/increasing-methadone-accessibility-in-california/509-29cf294b-b9f1-4346-9654-40dbad76e73d