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SALT LAKE CITY — A proposal supporters say could cut down on the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in Utah passed a House committee on Friday.
Sponsored by freshman Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, SB86 would remove fentanyl test strips from laws banning the use of drug paraphernalia. According to Plumb, her bill would decriminalize the use of test strips, with the goal of protecting drug users from unknowingly ingesting fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid.
"The reality is that, unfortunately, the supply of substances that people have access to outside of pharmacies have fentanyl in them," she said. "It took a while for fentanyl to get here to Utah, but it is absolutely here now."
Before being elected to the Senate, Plumb co-founded Utah Naloxone, an advocacy group that helps distribute kits that can reverse overdoses caused by opioids. She called her bill a "common sense solution," the likes of which has already been taken up by lawmakers in New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama and Tennessee, among others.
"We want people to have the ability to stay alive while they're hopefully on a patch to getting well, and this is a tool that can help empower that," she said.
Initial statistics show that 2021 was the deadliest year on record for overdose deaths in the United States.
Heather Bush, with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said several clinics had reached out saying they were unable to purchase the test strips, because they are considered drug paraphernalia. While the possession of certain drugs would remain illegal, clinics and other people could purchase and distribute the test strips without fear of prosecution.
SB86 would also allow for certain testing devices for use in clinics and recovery centers.
"It doesn't, you know, prevent fentanyl in the community, but they become more and more aware of fentanyl," Bush said. "And we found that by people having these strips, then they made different choices."
Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, asked Plumb if the bill could inadvertently increase illicit drug use in the state because people would feel more confident knowing their drugs weren't laced with fentanyl.
"Would this possibly create an increase in drug use among others?" he asked. "Because now they feel like, 'Oh, I can start testing for the fentanyl, the bad stuff's out of there."
Plumb said the bill wouldn't make the test strips more available to the public, because they are already purchasable through online retailers like Amazon. She said test strips haven't been found to increase drug use, and compared the test strips to an EpiPen for children with peanut butter allergies.
"You don't have a mom or a dad say, 'Hey, we're going to get peanut butter sandwiches tonight because we've got this EpiPen," she said. "And we do not find that people having tools to make them safer makes them more likely to engage in a behavior they would not have engaged in."
Bush said that it has shown to have the opposite effect — by empowering people to keep themselves safe, they are more likely to seek treatment and reduce drug use in the long term.
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, who is the House sponsor of the bill, also spoke on its behalf before the committee, comparing it to other commonsense safety precautions people regularly take.
"The easiest way to explain harm reduction, from my perspective ... is, if you're going to ride a motorcycle, maybe it's a good idea to wear a helmet," he said. "If you're going to smoke cigarettes, maybe you should smoke using a filter. If you're going to go and climb El Capitan in Yosemite, maybe you should use a rope."
"I wouldn't recommend (those) for any of my children, but if you're going to do it, do it in a way that's going to preserve your opportunity to see another day or live longer," he continued.
SB86 passed the Senate last week with all but one senator in favor. It received a unanimous recommendation from the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Friday.
