Fentanyl test strips may soon be declassified as drug paraphernalia in South Dakota

Annie Todd, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read
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PIERRE — Materials that allow people to test street drugs for the presence of fentanyl soon may be exempted from South Dakota's definition of drug paraphernalia, after a bill passed out of a House committee Wednesday.

Fentanyl test strips are strips commonly used in harm reduction tactics to allow drug users to test any number of drugs for the presence of fentanyl.

"We're trying to prevent overdoses for those people that are at high risk populations," said Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls, who sponsored the bill.

At-home fentanyl test strips, provided by the Center for Family Medicine, with informational flyers of how to use them aim to address a rise in fentanyl adulterated in local drugs supplies on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
At-home fentanyl test strips, provided by the Center for Family Medicine, with informational flyers of how to use them aim to address a rise in fentanyl adulterated in local drugs supplies on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.

Currently, if someone is caught with test strips, they could be charged with a class two misdemeanor under South Dakota law, which could result in a 30-day jail sentence.

Despite the risk, harm reduction organizations such as the Center for Family Medicine in Sioux Falls still distribute testing strips.

Rehfeldt said if someone wanted to purchase the strips over the counter, this bill would allow them to do so.

Proponents of the bill emphasized when drug users are allowed to test their drugs, it can lead to lower rates of overdoses that lead to death and overall lower drug use.

"The addiction crisis is on the rise," said Melissa Dittberner, a faculty member at the Department of Addiction Counseling and Prevention at the University of South Dakota. "With harm reduction techniques like the use of fentanyl testing strips, we can keep people alive long enough to get them the help that they need."

More:Center for Family Medicine sees dramatic increase in substances laced with fentanyl

Overdose rates in South Dakota have risen, according to Avoid Opioid SD, a program dedicated to raising awareness about opioid abuse in the state. At least 104 people in South Dakota had a death related to drugs in 2021.

Edward Krumpotich, the policy director for the Upper Midwest region of the National Harm Reduction Coalition, spoke remotely about his experience as someone who has used drugs.

He overdosed on a drug laced with fentanyl without his knowledge. He said testing strips could have led to safer behavior.

"If I had the control of testing substances that I had used on those days, my family who would not have almost lost their son, and my care team would have known how to treat me," Krumpotich said.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Fentanyl test strips may soon be declassified as drug paraphernalia in SD