Oct 2, 2024 - News

Fentanyl test strip legalization campaign launches Friday

Jason Clayworth

A photo of a fentanyl ad. — One of the ads that will be shown via digital mobile billboards in downtown Des Moines Friday. Photo: Courtesy of Overdrive Defense

A company that sells fentanyl test strips is funding a one-day digital billboard advertising campaign in Iowa Friday to urge Iowa lawmakers to decriminalize their product.

Why it matters: The strips can alert people to whether street drugs are laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than morphine that is causing thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year.

They are illegal in Iowa, Indiana, North Dakota and Texas.

Threat level: Iowa's overdose deaths are projected to increase by 1% to over 450 this year, while the national rate is dropping, according to preliminary CDC data.

State of play: Overdrive Defense, a harm reduction and drug safety company that sells the strips, is launching the pressure campaign in the states where they are illegal.

Digital billboard trucks will carry messages around the Iowa Capitol and downtown.

What's next: Drug activists believe lawmakers will agree to make the strips legal during next year's legislative session, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.

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Fentanyl test strip legalization campaign launches Friday

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