DeKalb Times

Illinois state Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) announced in a recent Facebook post that he is co-sponsoring legislation that focuses on fentanyl strip access.

"I’m optimistic that the work we are doing to have greater access to fentanyl strips with Tony McCombie and the other Illinois House Republicans will save lives!!" he said in the post.

Keicher has signed on as a co-sponsor of House Bill (HB) 3203. The bill is intended to aid in combatting the fentanyl epidemic.

In his post, Keicher shared a link to a 25News Now report about the bill. HB3203 passed from committee with bipartisan support last week. It is currently waiting to be debated on the House floor.

The ongoing fentanyl epidemic has resulted in numerous deaths across the nation. In a recent news release from his office that also announced his co-sponsoring, Keicher spoke about the effects of fentanyl on the community.

"I don’t want to have any spouse, sibling, child, or cousin to have to encounter their loved one dying from Fentanyl," he said in the release. "This legislation is critical to the protection of our people on the front end before we have death or before we have a tragedy. Life circumstance often puts people in a position where they think this is the avenue and this is a solution. But many times they’re seeking that high or to maintain their ability to not go through withdrawal."

If HB3203 is passed, it would allow pharmacists to sell fentanyl test strips over the counter to the public in order to test for the presence of fentanyl, a fentanyl analog, or a drug adulterant within another controlled substance. It would also allow county health departments to distribute the strips at their health department facilities free of charge. The fentanyl test strips would not be considered drug paraphernalia.

"Making Fentanyl strips readily available for purchase will ensure that our loved ones, our community members, and those that are seeking relief are able to be here and hopefully one day find their relief through the proper mechanisms,” the representative said.

Keicher was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018, the General Assembly website said. His experience includes serving on the Appropriations-Higher Education and Immigration & Human Rights committees. He resides in DeKalb.