HI SR24

Department of the Attorney General requested to conduct a study on whether xylazine testing strips should be excluded from Hawaii's drug paraphernalia definition.

Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative approved only for veterinary use that is increasingly found as an adulterant in the illicit drug supply, often mixed with fentanyl, increasing overdose fatality risk.

As of November 2022, xylazine was present in the illicit drug supply in 48 of 50 states and is associated with one in ten fatal fentanyl overdoses; naloxone does not reverse xylazine effects.

Multiple states have considered scheduling xylazine as a controlled substance and have reformed drug paraphernalia laws to legalize fentanyl test strips and other drug-checking equipment to combat overdoses.

Attorney General must submit findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the 2025 Regular Session convenes.