New York is close to taking a giant step to prevent new deaths caused by fentanyl, but the final decision to move forward hinges on Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), according to the state lawmaker leading the charge.
Earlier this spring, the state Assembly and Senate each passed a bill that would require fentanyl test strips and information on their use to be included in opioid antagonist kits, such as Narcan, as part of overdose prevention programs.
However, the legislation has gone unsigned for two months, according to the office of the bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Monica R. Martinez.
Martinez’s spokesman, Seth Squicciarino, wrote in an email that the legislation “hasn’t yet been signed by the governor.”
“As New York State continues to search for answers on how best to prevent further loss of life from the fentanyl epidemic, this approach will complement existing and new initiatives aimed at eradicating the crisis and move us closer to achieving this goal,” Martinez wrote in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I anticipate that upon review, the governor will agree with the bill’s intent and see its value in reducing overdose deaths throughout the state.”
The fentanyl epidemic cost roughly 17 New Yorkers their lives each day in 2022. A total of 6,300 residents died as a result of ingesting the substance, sometimes the result of consuming a fake prescription pill that has been compounded with fentanyl rather than the drug the user believes to be consuming.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among adults ages 18 to 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Martinez’s bill is different than “Matthew’s Law,” legislation that was signed into law last year that would allow the fentanyl test strips to be sold in retail in the first place.
Martinez’s bill goes a step further to boost “harm reduction,” or efforts that ensure people who do choose to use drugs can do so with the knowledge the pill or powder they plan to ingest is negative for fentanyl.
The bill requires that the state health department’s Narcan kits that the state provides to treat people who have overdosed also include the test strips, which, if used, could ultimately lower the number of people who overdose.
New York is slated to receive more than $2 billion in settlement agreements as a result of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James against opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. The money will go toward harm reduction efforts, such as the fentanyl test kits, prevention efforts, and addiction treatment.
The lead detective of a newly formed opioid response team in Placer County, California, Deputy Patrick Craven, told NBC News in a recent interview that the challenge with getting the test strips into the public is that the entire pill or powder must be tested, not just part of it.
“No pill is processed and made in the same way, and therefore they don’t contain even amounts of fentanyl,” Craven said.
New York City has gone it alone and already made fentanyl test strips available in four of its five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
The state legislature’s session ended last week. Hochul has until the end of the year to sign the bill, which would take effect 90 days after it is signed.
Martinez said the strips are “empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their safety and well-being.”
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“Allowing users the ability to know whether what they are about to put into their bodies contains fentanyl will save lives and reduce its devastation within our communities,” Martinez said.
Hochul’s office did not respond to a request for comment.