In compromise bill, Kansas Legislature approves legalization of fentanyl test strips
Kansas will likely soon gain a new tool in the fight against fentanyl, after the Legislature on Thursday approved legalizing test strips that can prevent deadly overdoses.
A bipartisan majority of lawmakers passed a criminal justice package that contained the test strip provision, as well as stronger criminal penalties for individuals who strike health care workers. The House approved the measure 113-9, and the Senate followed it in a 31-7 vote.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who has repeatedly called on lawmakers to legalize fentanyl test strips, appears likely to sign the bill.
“Whatever you think of drug use, it shouldn’t be a capital offense,” said Rep. Boog Highberger, a Lawrence Democrat.
The strips are cheap at only about $1 apiece. They detect fentanyl in pills and other drugs, allowing individuals to avoid taking drugs laced with the powerful synthetic opioid. All manner of illegal drugs are now regularly laced with fentanyl, a common method to boost their potency that dramatically raises the chance of a fatal overdose.
Lawmakers have faced growing pressure to take decisive action to combat the spread of fentanyl in Kansas. Overdose deaths soared from 393 in 2019 to 679 in 2021, according to data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, with 347 of the deaths in 2021 attributable in part to synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl.
The compromise package approved Thursday marks a breakthrough on test strips. While the House had previously approved test strips, the Senate hadn’t passed legalization.
Ahead of the debate, Republicans in the Senate still expressed a resistance to the legalization of test strips and a frustration with the inclusion of the policy in the package.
“The unintended consequence will be that we enable kids to use drugs,” said Sen. Mark Steffen, a Hutchinson Republican.
The deal includes several additional policies that played a role in attracting the votes necessary to advance the measure through the Legislature. It increases criminal penalties for manufacturing fentanyl and enhances penalties for criminal interference with law enforcement.
The package also scales back an earlier proposal that would have dramatically expanded the prosecutorial authority of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican. The original measure would have given the state attorney general authority to prosecute any multi-county crime; the final version instead adds theft, allowing Kobach to target multi-county retail shoplifting operations.
The compromise also dropped several provisions sought by Kansas hospitals to address growing violence against health care workers. Hospitals had wanted the Legislature to create the crime of interfering with the conduct of a health care facility. The deal includes a specific prohibition against battery of a health care worker, but dropped the larger interference language.
The Kansas Hospital Association has reported that 46% of hospitals in the state experience more than one episode of violence a year, and 13% report multiple violent incidents per week.
In 2020, the health care field was second only to the service sector in the number of nonfatal workplace injuries from violence, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 8,600 injuries of health care workers were reported.
