FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky lawmakers have two more legislative days left in the 2023 session. Advocates hope they will use that time to pass a bill that could help prevent overdose deaths.
House Bill 353 would decriminalize fentanyl strips in Kentucky. Currently, they are considered drug paraphernalia.
The bill also requires the state to conduct a fentanyl education and awareness campaign.
How can the strips help? They are used to detect fentanyl and are currently backed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And Frankfort Police Chief, Dustin Bowman, says there has been a significant increase in products laced with fentanyl.
"We have seen an increase in fentanyl being introduced to all kinds of drugs," said Bowman. "We're finding it in crack cocaine. We're finding it in marijuana. We're finding pills that are being pressed."
"You've got a 60% chance of dying just from trying to get high," Bowman added.
While overdose deaths are seen across the country, the problem seems to be bigger in Kentucky.
According to the CDC, Kentucky ranks second in overdose deaths in the United States. According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, overdose deaths rose 14% from 2020 to 2021 and fentanyl contributed to 70% of those deaths.
Bowman believes fentanyl strips could help reduce these statistics. He argues that in order to get people into recovery, they need to be alive.
"We're not promoting the use [of drugs]. But we are promoting - if they're going to use, to use safely and know that they're safe. So that we still have those opportunities in the future to provide aid."
Sydney Romo, who lost her nephew to a drug overdose, supports that.
"He was 17. One night, he took a pill like he normally did and didn't wake up. Come to find out - it was not at all what he thought he was taking. It was just straight fentanyl," she said. "If there's even a little bit of a chance to save anybody with [fentanyl strips] being available, then, why not? That's the ultimate goal - to save people. To be able to get to recovery."
House Bill 353 has already cleared the Kentucky House. It currently awaits action in the Senate.
What is fentanyl? According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.
