(BOSTON 1/8/2023) – Last week, the Massachusetts Senate debated and unanimously passed An Act relative to fentanyl test strips – S.2543 – legislation to help prevent overdoses and save lives by making legal the sale, possession, and distribution of fentanyl test strips, and other testing equipment used to identify fentanyl, in the Commonwealth.
If passed into law, the bill would add a potent tool to assist drug users by identifying if a substance contains fentanyl. Fentanyl test strips are a proven harm reduction strategy that have been shown to help drug users engage in less risky behavior, including by discarding drugs, reducing doses, using drugs more slowly, using drugs with someone else around, or keeping naloxone nearby.
“For those struggling with opioid addition, harm reduction is a critical strategy to keeping users safe and saving lives. I am proud to support legislation that keeps families whole and maintains paths to recovery,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “By following in the footsteps of 36 states and DC to pass legislation legalizing fentanyl test strips, we can stem off the worst of this crisis in communities across the Commonwealth. I believe that is a worthy goal.”
Fentanyl-related overdoses occur far too frequently in Massachusetts. 2,323 people suffered from overdoses in the Commonwealth between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023. In the first three months of 2023, fentanyl was present in 93% of fatal overdoses. According to the most recent data from the Department of Public Health, opioid-related deaths rose 2.5% in 2022, with Black residents accounting for the largest increase.
In 2020, the Department of Public Health had success with a pilot program in which they collaborated with six police departments across the state to distribute fentanyl test strips. Though outcomes were positive, there was significant confusion over the legal status of fentanyl test strips and whether they could be classified as drug paraphernalia, which would make possession punishable by statute.
If passed into law, S.2543 would remove such a barrier to harm reduction by addressing any lingering concerns about criminal or civil liability by including a Good Samaritan provision that exempts from liability “any person who, in good faith provides, administers or utilizes fentanyl test strips or any testing equipment or devices solely used, intended for use, or designed to be used to determine whether a substance contains fentanyl or its analogues.”
The legislation brings Massachusetts into line with 36 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legalized fentanyl test strips.
Having passed the Senate, the bill now heads to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for consideration.
###