State lawmakers should legalize fentanyl test strips

That small lifesaving measure had been out of reach until recently because Gov. Greg Abbott had opposed it.

With the governor ready to veto any bill that hit his desk, there wasn’t much incentive for lawmakers to expend the political capital to file one.

That changed in December when Abbott said he would withdraw his opposition.

The governor, like a lot of us, apparently had come to realize just how bad the problem is, how many Texans are needlessly dying because they unknowingly took fentanyl.

With Abbott on board, there’s no longer any reason for lawmakers not to act.

There are still arguments against legalizing the devices, of course.

An inevitable one is that abstinence is the best way to avoid overdosing on fentanyl or any other powerful drug.

That’s true. Some of the most ardent advocates for change in government approach to fentanyl would agree abstinence is the best policy.

Professor Kathryn Cunningham, an authority on drug use and addiction at the University of Texas Medical Branch, argues Texas should begin to approach the fentanyl crisis as a public health emergency.

She also advises abstinence while fentanyl is everywhere, however.

“No street drug is safe right now,” she told The Daily News recently. “None.”

The editors joined that call Dec. 31 with this: “If there ever was a time to just say no, this is it.”

But relying on abstinence alone probably is among the top five examples of consistently failed public policies. It has never worked to solve any problem and never will.

People also will argue legalizing fentanyl test strips will encourage the use of illegal drugs.

That’s a dubious argument just on its face and if it’s true in this case, it must be true in all cases.

The taxpayers are underwriting a large government apparatus and a vast body of law meant to ensure the quality of alcohol.

The Federal Alcohol Administration Act exists to “prevent the deception of the consumer and provide them with ‘adequate information’ as to the identity and quality of the product, to prohibit false or misleading statements, and to provide information as to the alcohol content of the product.”

Alcohol kills people every day. It kills some slowly, some quickly, some directly, some indirectly. Yet the government acknowledges a compelling interest in helping people be adequately informed about it, without worrying about encouraging anybody to consume it.

So anything short of arguing for a total prohibition on every mind-altering substance, including alcohol, is just sanctimony.

Legalizing fentanyl test strips would be an act of smaller, less intrusive government. It would empower people to take responsibility for their actions. It’s exactly what conservatives claim to support.

Many other more complicated things might also need to be done to battle the fentanyl crisis, but this one shouldn’t even be controversial.

• Michael A. Smith