Committee hears bill to let DHHS‑registered harm‑reduction groups use drug‑checking equipment

Representative Jody Newell told the Senate Judiciary Committee that HB226 would allow organizations registered with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to use drug‑checking equipment to learn what is on local drug supplies. "We are still losing loved ones to overdose," she said, urging the committee to consider tools that go beyond fentanyl test strips.

The bill would add definitions and carve out an exemption so that drug‑checking equipment and related materials used by agents of organizations explicitly authorized by a state, county, municipality or public health department would not be treated as drug paraphernalia. Newell said the change would make clear that such testing is permitted, that it could be eligible for opioid abatement and federal funds, and that the statute would not…