The United States House of Representatives voted today to pass a bill directing federal health officials to study drug testing practices in hospital emergency rooms, including marijuana.
House Bill 2004, known as Tyler’s Law, requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to complete a study within one year of enactment examining how frequently hospital emergency departments test overdose patients for fentanyl in addition to substances such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates and phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP.
The study must also examine the costs of fentanyl testing, potential benefits and risks for patients and how the testing may affect patient privacy and the physician-patient relationship.
Within six months after completing the study, HHS would be required to issue guidance addressing whether emergency departments should routinely test overdose patients for fentanyl and how hospitals can ensure clinicians know which substances are included in routinely administered drug tests.
The guidance would also examine how fentanyl testing could affect future overdose risk and general health outcomes.
Tyler’s Law was introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) with bipartisan support, including Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH). The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced the measure in July by a 46-0 vote.
The legislation is named after Tyler Shamash, a 19-year-old who died in 2018 after ingesting fentanyl. According to lawmakers, Shamash was taken to a hospital with a suspected overdose but was not tested for fentanyl because it was not included in the drug screening he received.
The Senate unanimously approved its own version of Tyler’s Law, S. 921, on March 23, but lawmakers in the two chambers have not passed identical legislation. Unlike the House measure, the Senate bill does not name marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates or PCP, instead broadly referring to other controlled substances.
The timelines also differ. Under the Senate measure, HHS would have three years to conduct the study and another nine months to release its guidance. The House version sets those deadlines at one year and six months, respectively.
Those differences will have to be reconciled, with both chambers approving the same version, before Tyler’s Law can advance to President Trump.
Following the House’s approval of Tyler’s Law, Congressmember Lieu sent a statement via e-mail saying “A simple drug test can mean the difference between life and death. Tyler’s Law is a bipartisan and commonsense piece of legislation. It is a privilege to work with Tyler’s mom, Juli, to honor Tyler’s memory and fight so no other family is forced to undergo such devastating loss.”
