Momentum is gaining in the Texas Legislature for a bill that would legalize test strips to detect fentanyl in others drugs, with a goal to curb the surge in opioid deaths.
The House overwhelmingly passed House Bill 362 on April 11 with a 143-2 vote, and similar proposals are pending in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, backed by a bipartisan group of senators.
“The majority of these folks succumbing to fentanyl overdoses do not realize that they’re taking fentanyl,” said Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, the author of the House bill. “It only makes sense that we give them the opportunity to be forewarned.”