COLUMBUS, Ohio — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5,000 Ohioans have died from a deadly drug overdose in the past 12 months.
Fentanyl is just one of the drugs causing a huge problem in the Buckeye State.
It’s the reason some Ohio lawmakers are pushing to decriminalize test strips used to see if fentanyl is present in other illicit drugs.
What You Need To Know
- Ohio House Bill 456 was passed by committee Tuesday
- The bill would decriminalize test strips used to see if fentanyl is present in other illicit drugs
- Currently, use of the test strips in Ohio is illegal
- HB 456 now heads to the full chamber for consideration
Ohio House Bill 456, which would decriminalize the use of those test strips, was passed by committee Tuesday. It now heads to the full chamber for consideration.
Kelsey Schmuhl, a pharmacist and assistant pharmacy professor at Ohio State, testified at the statehouse Tuesday in support of the bill.
“While the opioid epidemic continues to devastate our communities, we have also seen a dramatic rise in deaths caused by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl,,“ Schmuhl told lawmakers.
It’s an epidemic that sent shockwaves through Ohio State’s campus earlier this year.
Back in June, two students died from apparent accidental fentanyl overdoses. Police said the students took what they thought was Adderall, but in fact contained fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is often being mixed into other drugs without the user’s knowledge,” said Schmuhl.
Ohio has the fourth-highest drug overdose death rate in the country, according to the CDC. Fentanyl is a driving force in that statistic.
It’s why Schmuhl is asking Ohio lawmakers for help reducing the number of overdose deaths in the form of these test strips.
“It is essential that we come together and use every tool available to combat this problem,” she said.
Many health departments across Ohio offer these test strips for free, even though use of the strips is actually illegal in the state.
If caught, you could be charged with a misdemeanor and spend up to a month in jail.
“Harm reduction does not enable drug use, and it’s not increasing drug use. Harm reduction keeps people alive,” said Schmuhl.
In November, neighboring state Pennsylvania made the move to legalize the use and distribution of fentanyl test strips.
