Fentanyl testing materials will be legalized in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi will decriminalize supplies that permit folks to check unlawful medication to detect if they’re spiked with fentanyl, a extremely highly effective artificial opioid painkiller.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed Home Invoice 722 on Monday, and it turns into legislation July 1.

“It’s a tragic actuality that fentanyl overdoses are skyrocketing because of an open border,” Reeves wrote on Twitter. “This invoice will assist to avoid wasting lives.”

Fentanyl just isn’t unlawful and is utilized in hospitals nationwide, however it’s also broadly added to unlawful medication offered on the road and is blamed for about 70,000 opioid deaths yearly in the US. A report final yr from a bipartisan federal fee discovered that fentanyl and related medication are being made principally in labs in Mexico from chemical substances shipped primarily from China.

Delivering check strips to folks is a part of hurt discount technique that provides applicable merchandise to drug customers to stop unintended overdoses. If somebody is about to take a bootleg drug, they’ll dip a check strip into drug residue dissolved in water. With info from the check, an individual can take steps to scale back their danger of dying from an overdose.

The Mississippi invoice to decriminalize fentanyl testing supplies handed with broad bipartisan help by a vote of 117-3 within the Home and 50-0 within the Senate.

Democratic Rep. Chris Bell of Jackson, who sponsored the invoice, advised the Northeast Mississippi Each day Journal that fentanyl testing journeys are a security measure akin to seat belts in autos.

“Seat belts don’t encourage unhealthy driving, however they’re there to guard us in case we make a mistake,” Bell mentioned.

Present Mississippi legislation considers fentanyl testing merchandise comparable to check strips and testing wipes “drug paraphernalia,” and if somebody is convicted of possessing these merchandise, they’ll withstand six months in jail.