The United States Congress pushed bipartisan legislation to decriminalize fentanyl test strips in an effort to reduce high overdose rates. 

The Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act, supported by various senators in both parties, would amend the Controlled Substances Act which restricts the use of drug paraphernalia. The bill would remove test strips from the state’s “drug paraphernalia” list,  decriminalizing its use. In Texas, 5 people die from fentanyl-related deaths every day. For individuals under the age of 50, fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death, according to the Texas Department of Health. 

Claire Zagorski, a graduate research assistant at the College of Pharmacy, said she finds it hard to picture a point where drug overdoses and the negative effects of drug use are remediated in the U.S. because of the marketability of drugs and the lack of safe distribution.  However, she thinks tactics like decriminalizing fentanyl strips will help as it gives people the tools they need to make safer decisions.

“We’re certainly in an odd position because we want to be able to share best practices and test strips are our best practices because they’re used elsewhere around the country,” Zagorski said. “But we also don’t want to run afoul of the law.” 

Associate professor Christine Duvauchelle said fentanyl-related overdoses continue to occur in part because of the unavailability of prescription opiate medications. She said the promotion of OxyContin boosted opioid prescriptions and abuse in 2004. Lack of education about opioid dependence among medical professionals and patients resulted in professionals writing fewer opiate prescriptions out of fear of losing their medical licenses. This caused patients to cope with addiction through illegal means, increasing fentanyl-related overdoses.

“The prevalence of fentanyl-related overdoses is associated with unavailability of prescription opiate medications,” Duvauchelle said in an email. “Fentanyl is much more potent than typical opiate drugs, so only a small amount of the drug can result in overdose.  On the illicit market, there is no ‘quality control’ for any drug substance. The detection of fentanyl can prevent overdose deaths.”

In April, The Texas House voted 143-2 in favor of House Bill 362 decriminalizing test strips. However, the Texas Senate failed to vote in favor of the bill during the regular session despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s support. The failure of this attempt in the Texas Legislature earlier this year is what resulted in the U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) leading various other senators from both parties to introduce the “Fentanyl Safe Testing and Overdose Prevention Act” in Washington D.C.

Diana Dinitto, a Cullen Trust Centennial Professor in alcohol studies and education, said she encourages policymakers to listen to communities most impacted by opioid overdose to determine how they can best deliver harm reduction services. 

“When we get to know people in the community, we see them in a different light and humanize the problem, which helps develop solutions that will be used by people who have these problems,” Dinitto said.

Duvauchelle said to ensure the successful implementation and sustainability of the bill’s objectives,  policymakers need to make both fentanyl test strips and naloxone readily available to anyone in need.

“State and local authorities need to recognize addiction as a treatable disease and provide affordable healthcare to all who need it by expanding health insurance access and treatment sites at state and local levels,” Duvauchelle said. 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misspelled OxyContin (an opioid) as Oxytocin (a hormone). The Texan regrets this error.