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Some Kansas Senators seem determined to keep killing kids with fentanyl

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25: 40

This morning, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee finished up its effort to strip fentanyl testing strips and an Overdose death review board from HB2390 - and instead replaced the bill with language from SB6

HB2390 was a bill that would’ve created a review board that would examine opioid overdose deaths in the state and look for policy recommendations that could help reduce and prevent future overdose deaths. It also contained a provision that would decriminalize fentanyl testing strips - which is a tool that’s proven to alter the behavior of those using drugs and demonstrably saves lives. It was introduced by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and introduced and supported by a Republican member of the House who is also a doctor.

SB6 is a bill that restricts “the authority of the Secretary of Health and local health departments to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases.” It was introduced by Sen. Mark Steffen, of Hutchinson.

HB2390 passed the House with a unanimous vote - 121-0. SB6 passed the Senate by a vote of 22-18.

In the Senate Committee, the first salvo was to strip out fentanyl testing strips. The second was to strip out the review board, and the third was to gut the bill altogether and insert Sen. Steffen’s lingering paranoia about public health. You can watch how it played out, and also learn how to not run a committee.

The prevailing thought among seemingly enough Senate Republicans is that allowing testing strips will enable drug use. That’s not true - and not supported by a shred of evidence. When that argument was knocked down, they invented the excuse that if fentanyl testing strips are not illegal, law enforcement could lose the probable cause needed to carry out further searches. This, likewise isn’t true. The law enforcement officers I talked to - including the KBI - indicated that it takes more than one thing to create probable cause. And there’s always more than one thing if a search is warranted.

At some point, we have to accept that there are people in the Capitol building who don’t care about some people. They care about the right people - and that is always, without question, defined by the people in charge.

I will admit that I’m exhausted, demoralized, and, frankly defeated.

In this building, we’re supposed to be here to do good work. To help people. To learn - about our state, our industries, our people, and the challenges they encounter in their daily lives. And we’re supposed to use that information to put in place policy that will make our state better.

Many days, I don’t feel that’s what’s happening here. And certainly when it comes to battling our opioid epidemic, and the growing scourge of fentanyl, there’s a group of people - all of them in the Senate - who refuse to acknowledge this reality or to take even the simplest steps to help.

I understand and expect there will be differences in this place about how to solve problems - and which approaches are going to be the most effective. But I don’t expect for a handful of people to be able to overwhelm the majority, nor do I expect that a few people can decide to ignore a legitimate problem altogether.

KDHE has a dashboard to track overdose deaths. There were 678 overdose deaths in 2021.

Yet another teenager recently died from fentanyl. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last.

The Kansas City Police Department reported that accidental overdose from fentanyl poisoning has increased 150 percent from 2019 to 2020. And the Centers for Disease Control reported that fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased 350 percent among American teenagers between 2019 and 2021.

I have an alert set up that tells me every time there’s news coverage about fentanyl deaths in Kansas. I get notifications almost every day. The problem is getting worse, not better. Our 1980s policies are outdated and ineffective against what we’re facing today.

And the Rand Corporation - not exactly a bastion of liberal thought or policy - issued a 600-page report saying that the American approach to opioids must be viewed, and addressed, from an ecosystem perspective. There is no silver bullet in this - because this virus is embedded too broadly, and is too adaptive, for a single-track approach.

Yet, we got what we got this morning in the now-ironically named Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.

For the better part of three years, there has been a bipartisan group leading this effort in the House. And for the better part of three years we’ve met intractable resistance from enough Senators who can’t abandon their judgement long enough to lend a helping hand to those in need. A hand, mind you, that doesn’t cost anything, and doesn’t require anything of taxpayers.

There will still be a few more opportunities this session to try and make this happen. But if this year follows what I’ve seen in previous years anyone who cares about this policy and believes it’s the right next step should be ready to be disappointed. We have it our hearts to feed the rich with tax cuts, but can’t find the compassion to keep Kansans from suffering senseless deaths.

I know it’s March Madness and there a thousand other things that would be more fun to do - but if this is going to happen it will only happen because enough of you have engaged with enough of them to push the needle forward. So if you care about this and you want to help, I’ll give you the tools to do so.

First, we need more families affected by fentanyl to speak up and directly to resistant Senators. If you know someone who knows someone, please encourage them to lend their voice. I know it’s not easy. I have friends who have lost friends, family, and children to fentanyl. Some of them have offered testimony on these bills. But we need more - and we need more people with the real life stories about how this is affecting our families and our communities.

Second, you need to reach out to your Senator and tell them to support any and all efforts to decriminalize fentanyl testing strips - as well as other measures, such as the overdose review board, that can improve our understanding and response to fentanyl. Remember there are some Senators who are supportive. You’ll likely know them when you meet them. It might not hurt to have some of those same conversations with law enforcement. Most are neutral on the matter, but a few are really supportive, while some are against it. But they all need to know how the communities they serve and protect feel on the matter.

Third, we need to spread the word to more people in our communities. We can’t allow people to continue to feel shame, guilt, or stigmatized by the trauma their family has experienced. They need our love and compassion, and we need their voices and input.

Here’s a link to the entire Senate roster - click here.

Here’s a link to use your address to find your Senator - click here

Thanks to so many of you who have already done all you can to help. I appreciate all of you and your tireless effort.

And I appreciate your continued dedication to making Kansas a good and compassionate state for everyone.

Even those deemed unworthy by the self-anointed judges of who’s worthy and who’s not in the Senate.