BOSTON (SHNS) – A bill that would increase access to overdose-reversing drugs such as naloxone and offer amnesty to anyone who “in good faith” helps test the potency of a controlled substance has new momentum on Beacon Hill.
The House initially approved the proposal on Monday after plucking it from the legislative discard pile, bringing it into consideration during the final scheduled week of formal sessions for 2020. Under the baseline legislation, all first responders must be equipped with opioid antagonists when they are on duty that could be used to reverse a potentially fatal overdose.
The Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Committee rewrite of the bill (H 4538) that the House advanced also allows law enforcement, emergency medical technicians and firefighters to provide naloxone or similar resources to family or friends of an individual struggling with addiction in an attempt to limit harm from overdoses where first responders are not able to arrive quickly.
Another section of the bill the committee added explicitly allows “a person acting in good faith” to help test or analyze the purity and strength of a substance. A key factor in the opioid epidemic has been the undetected presence of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, in heroin and other drugs.
Individuals could not face charges for possession of drug paraphernalia for helping someone use fentanyl test strips, mass spectrometry or other tools to test a controlled substance under the bill.
The legislation had received a negative recommendation from the Health Care Financing Committee because both branches did not agree on an extension amid legislative infighting, but the House opted to reject that report and advance the bill, which needs a second favorable House vote to reach the Senate.
