Op-Ed A quiet revolution in drug policy: States embrace fentanyl test kits

[thegreenhand]

A quiet revolution in drug policy: States embrace fentanyl test kits​

Robert Gebelhoff
Washington Post
9 Feb 2023

Excerpt:

The U.S. overdose crisis has reached such depths that most states are taking extraordinary measures to save lives — even if that means helping people suffering from addiction to consume drugs more safely.

Consider the nationwide movement to legalize fentanyl test kits, which allow people to check whether illicit drugs are contaminated with fentanyl, the dangerous synthetic opioid driving the surge in deaths. While these tools alone will not solve this epidemic, they have shown great potential to make drug use less dangerous — so much so that even Republicans are embracing them.

This represents an uncelebrated sea change in drug policy. Just a few years ago, such test kits were considered “paraphernalia” and therefore illegal in most states. Today, that’s true in only 15 states.

Republicans’ contribution to these efforts are most notable, given their resistance to such “harm reduction” policies. In the past year alone, GOP governors in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio have moved to legalize test kits.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Attitudes toward methadone/suboxone is changing as well.

Time for America to wake up.

 

[Morbid Sea Cow]

I suppose it's better than nothing, but I think it's important to realize that fentanyl test strips are far from perfect. We should be investing into more foolproof analytical techniques.