HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	194
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TO CONDUCT A STUDY TO DETERMINE IF XYLAZINE TESTING STRIPS SHOULD BE EXCLUDED FROM THE STATE'S DEFINITION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA.

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 House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Law Enforcement 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 Law Enforcement 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 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Law Enforcement.

Report Title:

DLE; Xylazine Test Strips; Drug Paraphernalia; Study