Expanding Nationwide Access to Test Strips Act

Expanding Nationwide Access to Test Strips Act

This bill prohibits states from restricting individuals from, or prosecuting individuals for, accessing devices that can detect fentanyl, xylazine, or other adulterants in drug samples (e.g., test strips). 

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2484 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2484

  To ensure that States do not prohibit an individual from obtaining, 
      possessing, distributing, or using life-saving drug testing 
                 technologies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2023

  Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Welch, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
 Ossoff, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Markey) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure that States do not prohibit an individual from obtaining, 
      possessing, distributing, or using life-saving drug testing 
                 technologies, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Nationwide Access to Test 
Strips Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, over 109,000 people in the United States died from 
        drug overdoses in 2022, with 69 percent of those deaths 
        involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
            (2) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, by 2021, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving 
        xylazine was 35 times higher than the 2018 rate.
            (3) One significant contributing factor to the increase in 
        drug overdoses is individuals are often unaware their drugs are 
        laced with synthetic opioids and other dangerous substances.
            (4) In 2021, 92 percent of drug overdose deaths in the 
        United States were unintentional.
            (5) Drug test strips play a critical role in saving lives 
        by effectively detecting the presence of fentanyl, xylazine, 
        and other adulterants in various drugs and forms including 
        pills, powder, and injectables.
            (6) Studies show that individuals with access to testing 
        strips regularly use them before drug consumption, leading to a 
        higher likelihood of modifying their drug use behavior or 
        abstaining from drug use, thereby reducing the risk of drug 
        overdoses.
            (7) In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
        Administration announced the authorization of Federal funding 
        to acquire fentanyl strips to address this crisis.
            (8) As of the date of enactment of this Act, approximately 
        36 States and the District of Columbia have legalized the use 
        of fentanyl test strips. However, in fewer than a dozen States, 
        fentanyl test strips are still categorized as drug 
        paraphernalia, limiting access to these life-saving tools for 
        many individuals.
            (9) While many States have decriminalized fentanyl strips, 
        the criminalization of xylazine strips remains prevalent in 
        several States, even as xylazine poses an emerging threat.
            (10) Ensuring access to these test strips is justified 
        under congressional regulation of interstate commerce, as these 
        strips are consumer products that involve economic 
        transactions, including the shipment of goods, provision of 
        services, and purchases across State lines.

SEC. 3. ACCESS TO DRUG TESTING TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``life-saving drug 
testing technologies'' means devices, including test strips, that can 
detect the presence of fentanyl, xylazine, or other adulterants in drug 
samples prior to use.
    (b) Access to Drug Testing Technologies.--A State--
            (1) shall not prohibit an individual from obtaining, 
        possessing, distributing, or using life-saving drug testing 
        technologies; and
            (2) shall not prosecute an individual solely for obtaining, 
        possessing, distributing, or using life-saving drug testing 
        technologies.
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