Governor Kelly on Thursday signed a bipartisan bill that decriminalizes fentanyl test strips.
Decriminalizing test strips can detect the presence of fentanyl in other substances, and passage of the bill aims to help prevent overdose deaths in Kansas.
“By decriminalizing fentanyl test strips, we are providing the resources needed to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic so that families and loved ones no longer have to feel the pain of a preventable death,” Kelly said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100,000 people died in 2021 from a drug overdose, the most ever recorded in a single year in U.S. history.
2023 marks the third year a bill has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature to decriminalize fentanyl test strips. In 2022, the bill passed unanimously in the House but stalled in the Senate. This legislation has continuously had support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Senate Bill 174 also increases criminal penalties for manufacturing or distributing fentanyl and for committing battery against a healthcare provider.
Kansans looking for substance use treatment and recovery services are encouraged to use state services available here.
