Governor Kelly signs bill to decriminalize fentanyl test strips

SHAWNEE, Kan. (KCTV) - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly joined legislators in Shawnee Thursday to sign Senate Bill 174, an initiative which aims to decriminalize fentanyl test strips.

That bill, and the decriminalization of test strips which can detect the presence of fentanyl in other substances, is designed to help prevent overdose deaths in Kansas.

“Overdoses caused by fentanyl have devastated communities across Kansas and the nation,” Kelly said. “By decriminalizing fentanyl test strips, we are providing the resources needed to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic so that families and loves ones no longer have to feel the pain of a preventable death.”

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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 100,000 people have died in 2021 from a drug overdose, the most recorded in a single year in U.S. history. 2023 was the third year a bill has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature to decriminalize fentanyl test strips.

Legislators on both sides have voiced support for the bill.

“The fentanyl epidemic is devastating our communities,” Rep. Stephen Owens (R-Hesston) said Thursday in a state-issued release. “Senate Bill 174 represents our first steps in working together to fight this terrible drug.”