FL House Denies Decriminalizing Fentanyl Test Strips, Deutch Weighs in

Fentanyl and other hard drugs have claimed the lives of many Floridians.  Regardless, the Republican-led Florida House of Representatives struck down a bipartisan push to decriminalize fentanyl test strips, a move that US Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) characterized as, "shortsighted," and "wrong."

The issue is personal for Congressman Deutch, as on the same day of the legislation failing in the Florida House, six college-aged individuals on Spring Break overdosed on Cocaine laced with fentanyl.

Deutch joined Jim DeFede on CBS Miami to speak on the issue and call out the opposition and their arguments that stand against providing fentanyl test strips.

"I'd like to live in a world where every young person behaved in a way that was safe every minute of the day.  And that young people never drank dangerous amounts, never tried drugs, it's not realistic and we ought to be doing everything we can to keep people safe," said Rep. Deutch.  The Congressman elaborated, "So in this instance, these are kids who reportedly tried cocaine, and there are ways to make sure that in this case, they would not have been laced with fentanyl.  The way to do that is through fentanyl test strips."

Deutch added that these are, "legal in many states across the country, but not in Florida."  However, after the bill passed in the Senate, the Florida House "killed in the bill," because they are simply, "worried about it encouraging drug use.  It is shortsighted, it is wrong, this week, the fact that the same week in my district these young people had this exposure to fentanyl, the state was actively trying to give them the tools to protect themselves, and the Florida House, just in the past 24 hours, took that language out."

This is not a rare occurrence for Americans, as the Congressman reveals his own nephew died last year of fentanyl ingestion after taking an herbal supplement, Kratom, which is legal in Florida.  Deutch would like to see accidental fentanyl ingestion among young people addressed.