Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation Wednesday legalizing test strips that can detect the presence of the potent opiate fentanyl and potentially help avoid deadly overdoses.
The measure was overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature and will allow drug users to buy the strips to check whether drugs are laced with fentanyl.
“We want everyone who is using drugs to seek professional treatment,” Ducey said. “But until someone is ready to get help, we need to make sure they have the tools necessary to prevent a lethal overdose.”
Democratic Sen. Christine Marsh sponsored SB1486 after last year’s death of her 25-year-old son, Landon Marsh.
She tearfully testified during a February committee hearing about how her recently married son had one night of “being really stupid” with his childhood best friend. He took what he thought was a prescription pain pill that turned out to be laced with fentanyl. He had been working toward a degree in mechanical engineering when he died.
In a statement released by Ducey’s office, Marsh said, “no one should have to suffer the loss of their loved one to addiction or accidental overdose.”
The test strips will no longer be considered illegal drug paraphernalia when the law takes effect 90 days after the legislative session ends.
Ducey has made fighting the opioid crisis a major issue while in office and signed legislation in 2016 allowing pharmacists to dispense an opioid antidote known as Naloxone without a prescription.
The state Health Services Department reports that 9,368 people have died of opiate overdoses in Arizona since June 15, 2017. Many of those deaths involved ingesting drugs laced with fentanyl.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
