New Mexico is allowing broad access to test strips that can detect the presence of the potent opiate fentanyl and potentially help avoid deadly overdoses, under legislation signed Monday by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The bill from Democratic legislators in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos lifts restrictions on public access to devices that can test for drug impurities. It also gives state health health officials new authority to intervene and rein in the spread of diseases like HIV and hepatitis that can be transmitted through intravenous drug use.
Overdoses in New Mexico increasingly are linked to the ingestion of drugs laced with fentanyl. States including Arizona already have decriminalized test strips designed to detect fentanyl.
New Mexico routinely leads the American West in rates of opioid-related drug overdose deaths. It also has been on the forefront of strategies to reduce the toll of drug use and addiction, from the distribution of overdose antidote drugs to legal immunity provisions for people who may implicate themselves in crimes by seeking overdose treatment for themselves or others.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.