Hawaii 2024 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SR24 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 24 THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION requesting the Department of the Attorney General to conduct a study to determine if xylazine testing strips should be excluded from the STate's definition of drug paraphernalia.
2	2
3	3	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 24
4	4	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7	THE SENATE
8	8
9	9	S.R. NO.
10	10
11	11	24
12	12
13	13	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
14	14
15	15
16	16
17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29	SENATE RESOLUTION
30	30
31	31
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35	requesting the Department of the Attorney General to conduct a study to determine if xylazine testing strips should be excluded from the STate's definition of drug paraphernalia.
36	36
37	37
38	38
39	39
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43	WHEREAS, xylazine is a non-opiate sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant that has been only approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use; and WHEREAS, xylazine has been increasingly identified as a cutting agent or adulterant in the illicit drug supply, often mixed with fentanyl, which increases the risk of a fatal drug overdose; and WHEREAS, as of November 2022, xylazine was found in the illicit drug supply in forty-eight of fifty states and is currently associated with one in ten fatal fentanyl overdoses; and WHEREAS, although symptoms of xylazine use and opioid use are similar, overdose reversal agents such as naloxone do not counteract the effects of xylazine; and WHEREAS, there is currently no drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reverse the effects of xylazine in humans; and WHEREAS, in 2023, multiple states considered legislation to schedule xylazine as a controlled substance; and WHEREAS, historically state drug paraphernalia laws have prohibited the possession of drug-checking equipment, such as fentanyl test strips, which can be used by a person who uses drugs to test their supply for an adulterated substance; and WHEREAS, in order to combat overdose deaths from drugs adulterated by fentanyl, legislatures across the country have altered their drug paraphernalia laws to either explicitly legalize fentanyl test strips or generally legalize drug-checking equipment; and WHEREAS, similar steps should be taken to combat the rise of drugs adulterated by xylazine; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to conduct a study to determine if xylazine testing strips should be excluded from the State's definition of drug paraphernalia; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to submit a report of its study, including findings and recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Xylazine Test Strips; Drug Paraphernalia; Study; Attorney General
44	44
45	45	WHEREAS, xylazine is a non-opiate sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant that has been only approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for veterinary use; and
46	46
47	47
48	48
49	49	WHEREAS, xylazine has been increasingly identified as a cutting agent or adulterant in the illicit drug supply, often mixed with fentanyl, which increases the risk of a fatal drug overdose; and
50	50
51	51
52	52
53	53	WHEREAS, as of November 2022, xylazine was found in the illicit drug supply in forty-eight of fifty states and is currently associated with one in ten fatal fentanyl overdoses; and
54	54
55	55
56	56
57	57	WHEREAS, although symptoms of xylazine use and opioid use are similar, overdose reversal agents such as naloxone do not counteract the effects of xylazine; and
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61	WHEREAS, there is currently no drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reverse the effects of xylazine in humans; and
62	62
63	63
64	64
65	65	WHEREAS, in 2023, multiple states considered legislation to schedule xylazine as a controlled substance; and
66	66
67	67
68	68
69	69	WHEREAS, historically state drug paraphernalia laws have prohibited the possession of drug-checking equipment, such as fentanyl test strips, which can be used by a person who uses drugs to test their supply for an adulterated substance; and
70	70
71	71
72	72
73	73	WHEREAS, in order to combat overdose deaths from drugs adulterated by fentanyl, legislatures across the country have altered their drug paraphernalia laws to either explicitly legalize fentanyl test strips or generally legalize drug-checking equipment; and
74	74
75	75
76	76
77	77	WHEREAS, similar steps should be taken to combat the rise of drugs adulterated by xylazine; now, therefore,
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to conduct a study to determine if xylazine testing strips should be excluded from the State's definition of drug paraphernalia; and
82	82
83	83
84	84
85	85	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to submit a report of its study, including findings and recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and
86	86
87	87
88	88
89	89	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General.
90	90
91	91
92	92
93	93
94	94
95	95
96	96
97	97	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
98	98
99	99
100	100
101	101	OFFERED BY:
102	102
103	103	_____________________________
104	104
105	105
106	106
107	107
108	108
109	109
110	110
111	111
112	112
113	113
114	114
115	115
116	116
117	117	Report Title:
118	118
119	119	Xylazine Test Strips; Drug Paraphernalia; Study; Attorney General