After the new release of the CDC data Texas drug test strip bans are getting more and more attention for deaths from drug overdose on Wednesday.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdose in 2021, up 15% from the previous year. This rise is due to challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Social isolation, loss of access to treatment, and the spread of the deadly drug fentanyl. 100 times More powerful than morphine.
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In Texas, 5,033 people died from drug overdose in 2021. This is an increase of 19.8% over the previous year, above the national average.
under Texas Controlled Substances Act, Drug testing equipment is classified as a drug-related device and makes fentanyl testing strips illegal.Texas Parliamentarian could not get Invoice It would have removed the criminal penalties for possessing a drug test kit that passed last year.
Biden administration National drug management strategy Last month, I gave an overview of actions to reduce opioid overdose and mortality. This strategy expands access to high-impact hard reduction tools such as test strips and naloxone, a drug that rapidly reverses opioid overdose.
Proponents of harm reduction say making naloxone more widely available, and including test kits and clean syringes, is important to the state’s approach and helps save lives.
“Harm reduction is a strategy for optimizing people’s health by keeping them alive, educating them about the risk of overdose, preventing infectious infections, and treating them with dignity and respect. … We are losing their prime people due to overdose[s]”Dr. Kimberly Soo, an assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine and medical director of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding harm reduction strategies.
Test strips can be used to test drugs, powders, and pills for the presence of illegal compounds. Strips provide additional protection for people who are afraid that their medicine or medicine may be contaminated with fentanyl. Only 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. Sue says that knowledge of the existence of fentanyl can inform people to make potentially life-saving decisions.
“Strips are very effective in detecting the presence of fentanyl in a substance,” Sue said. “Anyone who buys something on the street thinks they are buying oxycodone or Xanax. Those pressed pills could be 100% fentanyl. Yes. They can have a little fentanyl. Fentanyl is contained in cocaine …. Would you like them to know that they are using fentanyl? ”
In Harris County alone, fatal drug overdose increased by 52% between 2019 and 2021. According to county statistics, the number of deaths, including fentanyl, surged 341% from 104 to 459 over the same period.
Meanwhile, the Travis County Medical Inspector’s Office was released in 2021. Numbers It showed that drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death for the first time in 10 years. About one-third of deaths from overdose were caused by fentanyl.
In response, Travis County Judge Andy Brown said he and his commissioners would consider declaring a public health crisis on Tuesday.
“At the state level, we need to legalize the fentanyl strip. It’s something that should be available to the people of Texas, just as it is available to the people of New Mexico,” Brown said in the news.interview For the local TV station KXAN.
Brown said he would work with state legislators in next year’s session to lift the drug test strip ban and invest more in treatment and recovery options. Sue states that it is important to adopt a national strategy, as the increased deaths from fentanyl and stimulants indicate that drug criminalization policies are not working.
“Some people don’t come to the clinic because of substances or arrest warrants,” Sue said. “And they don’t access the service …. I saw my patients die because of those policies, and I saw it happen all over the country. Very traumatic. , Difficult to work [of] Taking care of patients when policy makers make it very difficult for me to provide that care. “
