House Bill 1053, authored by Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers), passed out of the Indiana House of Representatives on Tuesday.
HB 1053 clarifies in state code that drug test strips do not constitute drug paraphernalia, bringing Indiana into alignment with 30 other states, including Ohio, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Garcia Wilburn
“Let’s be clear: Drug test strips do not enable drug use,” Garcia Wilburn said. “Removing this language regarding the legality of test strips allows Indiana to embrace harm-reduction strategies and open access to critical federal funding to the tune of $977.5 million and counting that can be used for substance use disorder recovery and other behavioral health initiatives. Having access to this federal funding allows our mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization units to be supported without tapping into law enforcement funds. I am thankful to the Indiana Prosecuting Attorney Council who helped perfect the language and those who came out to testify in favor of HB 1053, including recovery providers, peer recovery coaches as well as the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police.
“I also want to thank my co-authors: Reps. Jennifer Meltzer, Sharon Negele, and Kyle Miller, as well as Rep. Wendy McNamara for giving this bill a hearing.”