Now that we've won the Superbowl...
Hearing this week HB2390 could make huge strides in curbing opioid and fentanyl overdose deaths - and you can help make sure it happens
I never in my lifetime thought I’d see the Kansas City Chiefs win a Superbowl. And I couldn’t imagine a world where we’d win two. Yet here we are in some sort of dream world where we’ve nearly forgotten that once-familiar feeling of getting so, so close to the prize only to let it slip away.
That reminds me of last legislative session, where we tried over and over again to decriminalize fentanyl testing strips in Kansas - only to be routed by a handful of old-school, hard-nosed politicians who deployed a 1980s defensive strategy to thwart our forward progress.
Luckily, it’s a new season in Topeka and we have another shot. And this time, I’m asking all of you to help out!
On Wednesday, Feb. 15, there will be a hearing in the House Health and Human Services committee on HB2390. In addition to decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips (FTS) from the definition of drug paraphernalia, it also decriminalizes testing strips for ketamine and gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHA), which are date rape drugs.
Additionally, this bill establishes an overdose fatality review board, and outlines the responsibilities and logistics of that board. This is modeled somewhat after the Child Death Review board, which examines every childhood death in Kansas and looks for ways in which the death might have been avoided. If we can do this same sort of thing with overdose deaths, we can gather a lot of good information that can help us make better, and perhaps more compassionate, policy.
But these things aren’t likely to happen on their own, and that’s where you come in.
If you, or someone you know, has been touched or affect by opioids, fentanyl, or substance misuse, I hope you’ll consider providing testimony to the committee. You can testify in person at the Capitol, and generally you can testify online through our video conferencing system (I’m double checking this), and you can submit written testimony.
Here are some things you need to know if you plan to testify:
All testimony must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14
Send a PDF copy of your testimony to david.long@house.ks.gov
Copy me at jason.probst@house.ks.gov on your testimony and print copies.
The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. in room 112-N in the Capitol.
It’s not easy for the general public to testify. Unlike professional lobbyists, you’re not getting paid to hang around the Capitol to be watch for bills that matter to you and be ready to testify in a moment’s notice. But the voice that everyday Kansans can provide is critically important. So if this issue is important to you, I hope you’ll take the time to submit testimony in support of this bill - in whatever form you can manage.
I wish we could’ve gotten this done last year, but we have another opportunity this year. I know a number of you who stepped up to share your personal story, and to remind policy makers that people in addiction are real, living, people, who deserve love, compassion, kindness, and policies that help keep them alive long enough to recover.
Thank you for your consideration, and your help.
Good luck on this issue. Will be watching to see if bill to do away with food taxes is presented without "poison pills" injected by GOP. As always am deeply grateful for your efforts.