Jack O’Connor is a States Newsroom Fellow for the summer of 2024. He wrote this article for Iowa Capital Dispatch, which was first to publish it.

After past failed efforts in the Iowa legislature, drug activists believe the next session will deliver legalized fentanyl test strips as support for the movement grows and the drug epidemic continues.

Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that can test drugs to see if they contain any fentanyl. Activists argue that by legalizing these strips, lawmakers could save lives by preventing accidental overdoses from fentanyl. Under state law, fentanyl test strips are considered drug paraphernalia and therefore illegal.

The previous effort to include the legalization of fentanyl test strips in a 2023 law fell short but gained some bipartisan support, said the amendment’s author, Democratis State Representative Megan Srivinas of Des Moines. Srinivas and activists are prepping to introduce legislation to legalize the strips next session.