NH House passes expanded drug-checking bill: What it means
The New Hampshire House on Wednesday passed a previously retained bill that would enable comprehensive drug checking to take place in the state, a step beyond last session when it legalized fentanyl and xylazine test strips for the general public.
House Bill 470 had been retained in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee after lawmakers last session decided it wasn’t ready for prime time, mainly because of concerns that drug traffickers could take advantage of it. Over the summer and through the fall, a subcommittee worked on amendments to the bill, which ultimately received a vote of 12-8 “ought to pass” from the full committee.
On Wednesday, during the first legislative activity of 2024, the House voted 212-161 to pass HB 470 and send it to the Senate.
Last June, after passage in both the House and the Senate, Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law House Bill 287, which decriminalized fentanyl and xylazine test strips for the general public, a move hailed by harm reduction advocates.
HB 470, sponsored by Rep. David Meuse, a Portsmouth Democrat, goes further, and seeks to remove “drug-checking equipment” entirely from the state’s definition of drug paraphernalia. It would also allow people to possess “nominal amounts” of drugs for the purpose of drug-checking – without the fear of criminal prosecution.
For advocates of the bill, it’s about creating an expanded testing infrastructure that addresses real-time public health and safety concerns as the Granite State’s drug supply becomes more adulterated with emerging contaminants. They also feel it would empower people who use drugs to know what’s in their supply and make better informed decisions.
Meuse said the state is currently in a position where it has to pass a law every time new drug-checking technology is developed. He cited a new fentanyl-like compound called nitazene that has started showing up in other states. While he isn’t aware of any equipment that tests for it outside of laboratory resources, it’s likely some will be developed, he said.
“One of the reasons we need bills like this is we are not in a static situation when it comes to our epidemic of drug overdoses,” Meuse said.
He contended, “If we want to make an impact and we want to save lives, these are the sort of decisions we actually have to be prepared to make.”
As written and passed, a person possessing less than 10 milligrams of a controlled substance for the purpose of drug-checking would not be subject to prosecution. Those opposing the bill have used phrases such as “state-sanctioned overdoses” and “a shocking misunderstanding of the drug-use culture.”
During Wednesday’s session, Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, a Winchester Republican, said the legislation would allow for people to possess an amount of drugs that could “kill 500 people,” referring to the potency of carfentanil, a veterinary tranquilizer for large animals. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency and also cited by Rhodes, 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be considered a lethal dose and carfentanil is 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
Rhodes said the fentanyl and xylazine test strip bill passed last session “was the mechanism for these drugs to be tested.” She alleged HB 470 would stop police from being able to enforce drug laws and “kicks the door open for abuse.”
In order to become law, HB 470 must pass the Senate and be signed by the governor.
This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH House passes expanded drug-checking bill
