Kansas House votes to legalize fentanyl test strips because the drug is ‘killing people’

Fentanyl test strips are one of a handful of proposals hoping to curb the number of overdose deaths in the state.
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas lawmakers are again trying to legalize fentanyl test strips to keep people alive amid a pandemic of soaring overdoses.

“We aren’t used to dealing with pills being made that are killing people at this level. So the danger of this has really caught the nation by surprise,” said state Rep. Eric Smith, a Burlington Republican. “We need to deal with it in Kansas.”

Smith, who is also the Coffey County undersheriff, said the state is taking a multi-pronged approach that includes increasing penalties for dealers and making manufacturing the highest level drug felony possible while also focusing on non-criminal avenues.