Could testing kits help prevent fentanyl overdoses? Why students want this Idaho bill

Cayden Stone had just been elected student body president at his Coeur d’Alene high school in 2021 when a 15-year-old fellow student died after taking prescription pills that contained fentanyl.

Stone, who testified at a legislative committee last month, said the issue has stuck with him since he left high school. Now a member of student government at Boise State University, Stone and other students are pushing to legalize testing kits used to determine whether a substance contains fentanyl.

“Even just one more bright light lost too soon is one too many,” Stone said at the committee meeting.

Idaho lawmakers could soon legalize fentanyl testing strips with a bipartisan bill by removing them from listed drug paraphernalia prohibited in state law. The bill, House Bill 441, is sponsored by House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls.

Martha Smith, a member of student government at the University of Idaho, told the Statesman by phone that she thinks the legislation could help reduce harm for people struggling with substance abuse. A student of the Moscow campus died in Washington after using fentanyl-laced cocaine last year, according to previous Statesman reporting.

“We need to start having conversations about how we’re going to address it a little bit more effectively,” Smith said, referring to the fentanyl crisis in Idaho. At least 270 died of opioid-related causes in 2022, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.

Idaho last month implemented a law to add mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl trafficking crimes. The law takes effect in July. Though proponents have said the bill will discourage the illegal drug trade, opponents worry it could ensnare people with addictions into required prison sentences of three years or longer. Lawmakers faced intense pressure from law enforcement groups and other advocates to vote in favor of the bill.

Smith said the testing kits would be a tool for harm reduction organizations and could also help college students who she said tend to experiment more with drugs. She said she thought it could be particularly helpful for students who are dependent on ADHD medication and have been prescribed treatment. Facing a shortage of the drug in recent years, some students have turned to buying the medication without a prescription, which puts them at risk of buying drugs laced with fentanyl, she said.

Rubel pointed out that the kits are legal in most other states. A pack of 10 can be purchased for $11.50 on Amazon.

“This is a cheap and easy way for people to make sure they’re not being poisoned by fentanyl,” Rubel said on the House floor last month.

Erickson said the strips could be used by Idahoans who purchase over-the-counter medications from out of the country who want to ensure fentanyl has not been added to their pills.

House Bill 441, which passed in the House last month, will need approval from the Senate before it’s sent to Gov. Brad Little for signing.

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