By: Nate Gilmore

 

Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18-45.[1] It was tied to nearly 64 percent of all drug fatalities in 2021, nearly doubling from 2020.[2] During this time, fentanyl overdoses have killed more people than car accidents, gun violence, breast cancer, and suicide.[3] It is not a political debate; it is an infestation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confiscated over 11000 pounds of fentanyl coming over America’s southern border in 2021, almost three times greater than the year prior.[4] Immediate action must be taken to reduce the risk of these overdoses.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid commonly added to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.[5] Deadly fentanyl levels mixed into these drugs cannot be detected by sight, taste, or touch.[6] Fentanyl test strips are inexpensive and are seen as one of the only ways to effectively determine if fentanyl is present.[7] With such a cheap and effective way to help lower the death tows rising, why are these strips not offered in stores across the country? The main problem is that these testing strips are only legal in a few states.[8] In states such as Florida, however, they are considered “drug paraphernalia,” where possession is a first-degree misdemeanor.[9] The potential life-saving strip could land you up to a year in prison.[10]

Things are looking up, however, in the sunshine state. This month, Florida State Representative Andrew Learned and State Senator Sevrin Jones have filed identical bills in the Florida House and Senate that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips.[11] Drug paraphernalia is currently defined as “all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, transporting, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance. . . .”[12] “Testing” is to be removed from the definition, and the bills would also decriminalize drug testing equipment such as fentanyl test strips.[13] Passage of these bills would be a massive step forward in increasing the availability of fentanyl test strips across the state and hopefully help stall overdose rates. Opponents of fentanyl test strips say that this approach encourages illegal drug use, as it is not requiring that someone stops taking drugs.[14] While this is a valid claim, the staggering fentanyl overdose rates over the last few years show that immediate action should be taken in an attempt to lower these rates, and the research on fentanyl test strips shows how efficient it can be.[15]

Fentanyl has crossed over our borders and poisoned this great country from within. With overdose rates increasing every year, U.S. citizens should be outraged and demand immediate legislative action. Legalizing fentanyl test strips would help identify fentanyl in a substance and will help reduce the risk of overdose, saving the lives of struggling addicted citizens.[16]

 

[1] Dan Grossman, Fentanyl is the Leading Cause of Death in Americans Ages 18-45, The Denver Channel (Jan. 04, 2020, 7:28 PM), https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/national/fentanyl-is-the-leading-cause-of-death-in-americans-ages-18-45.

[2] Deidre McPhillips, Drug Overdose Deaths Top 100,000 Annually for the First Time, Driven by Fentanyl, CDC Data Show, CNN Health (Nov. 17, 2021, 12:27 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/health/drug-overdose-deaths-record-high/index.html.

[3] Adam Shaw & Andrew Mark Miller, Fentanyl Overdoses Become No. 1 Cause of Deaths Among US Adults, Ages 18-45: ‘A National Emergency’, Fox 10 Phoenix (Dec. 16, 2021), https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/fentanyl-overdoses-become-no-1-cause-of-death-among-us-adults-ages-18-45-a-national-emergency.

[4] See id.

[5] The Facts About Fentanyl, CDC (Nov. 2, 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl/index.html.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Fentanyl Test Strips: Why Are They Illegal, Addiction Resource (Jan. 13, 2022), https://www.addictionresource.net/blog/fentanyl-test-strips/ (stating that in Alaska, Colorado, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wyoming, fentanyl test strips are legal or decriminalized).

[9] Fla. Stat. § 893.147.

[10] Fla. Stat. § 775.082.

[11] McKenna Schueler, Florida Lawmakers File Legislation to Decriminalize Fentanyl Test Strips, WMNF (Jan. 7, 2022), https://www.wmnf.org/florida-lawmakers-file-legislation-decriminalize-fentanyl-test-strips/.

[12] Fla. Stat. § 893.145.

[13] Schueler, supra note 11.

[14] Fentanyl Test Strips: Why Are They Illegal, supra note 8.

[15] Fentanyl Test Strips: Why Are They Illegal, supra note 8.

[16] Fentanyl Test Strips: Why Are They Illegal, supra note 8.

 

Image Source: https://www.brown.edu/news/2019-01-18/fentanyl