A bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to the governor
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A bill that would decriminalize all dtrug test strips used to detect deadly substances in West Virginia, the state with the nation’s highest overdose rate, is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
Kim Adams of the SOAR Initiative packs fentanyl testing strips to be shipped out to anonymous recipients on April 13, 2023, at their office in Columbus, Ohio. [Samantha Hendrickson | AP]
Justice hasn’t said publicly whether he supports the bill, which has received bipartisan support. The proposal follows a law signed by Justice in 2022 that decriminalized fentanyl drug test strips.
“As time has gone, unfortunately, we’ve got fentanyl, now we’ve got carfentanil, now we’ve got xylazine,” Republican Deputy House Speaker Matthew Rohrbach said on the House floor before the legislation passed overwhelmingly Friday.
Rohrbach, who is also the chamber’s substance abuse committee chair, said the bill is meant to ensure that all drug test strips will be available to people who need them, without lawmakers having to pass new legislation every time a new one is developed.
“It just says, ‘test strips for deadly drugs will be exempted from drug paraphernalia,’” Rohrbach said.
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Under West Virginia law, drug paraphernalia could be hypodermic syringes, needles, capsules, and balloons, among other items. A person found in possession of drug paraphernalia could face a misdemeanor charge, a fine of up to $5,000 and six months to a year in jail.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described drug test strips as a low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses.
The proportion of drug overdose deaths involving heroin has declined in recent years. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues were involved in 76% of all drug overdose deaths occurring in West Virginia in 2021, up from 58% in 2017. Approximately 75,000 of the nearly 110,000 overdose deaths of 2022 could be linked to fentanyl, according to data from the CDC.
Xylazine is a tranquilizer not approved for use in people that is increasingly being found in the U.S. illegal drug supply, and was declared an emerging threat by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2023. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
Legalizing test strips could bring those numbers down, advocates say, saving lives by helping more people understand just how deadly their drugs could be.
CHELYAN, W.Va. — A West Virginia Turnpike worker was injured Saturday after falling out of a tollbooth that was hit by a truck.
State police said it happened Saturday morning at about 9:16 when a truck carrying steel I beams, driven by Cameron Huntington, 28, of Colorado hit a southbound tollbooth near Chelyan.
John Terry, 61, of Gallagher, was working the tollbooth and fell out the window after contact from an I beam caused the booth to rock.
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The tollbooth fell to the right striking a vehicle in the next lane.
Troopers said there were no serious injuries.
Huntington was ticketed for failure to maintain control of his truck.
PENNSBORO, W.Va (WDTV) – Racing enthusiasts around the state had the chance to see vintage race cars and motorcycles at the annual West Virginia Racing Heritage Festival Saturday.
The festival teaches attendants about West Virginia’s history in dirt track racing with both cars and motorcycles.
The festival was held at Pennsboro Speedway, which opened in 1887 and hosted some of the nation’s top racing talent on its tracks.
“We’ve got so many national champions here,” WV Racing Heritage Festival President Ashley Ness said. “This racetrack has seen all these national champions. We’ve had the best in the United States, including Australia and New Zealand, come here and race at Pennsboro Speedway. It’s time to get them all back again.”
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Racing legends who come from the Mountain State attended the festival to speak about their experience on the tracks.
One panel included six women who competed in flat-track motorcycle racing at a time when it was mostly dominated by men.
“We have six of the lady flat-track racers that were pioneers in the 60s and 70s,” Ness said. “It’s so important to get this documented, and that’s what the Heritage Festival is all about, documenting the history of dirt track racing, whether it be motorcycles or race cars.”
Vintage cars and motorcycles also got back in action with a parade lap on the tracks of Pennsboro Speedway.
The festival began in 2015 and will continue next year on June 5.
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Editor’s note: The video for this story will be added once it airs. Please check back for the updated video.
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