As the nation comes to recognize drug abuse and addiction as a public health issue rather than a moral failing or lack of character, harm reduction strategies have leaped to the forefront. These tactics are taking on new forms and making advances that save lives.
One new strategy available now takes the form of test strips that detect fentanyl-laced heroin. This practical approach to drug use and misuse could potentially save thousands of lives.
These are devices similar to the kind used by diabetics to measure glucose levels or strips that test for pregnancy.
Other harm reduction test strips distributed by companies like DanceSafe, or Drink Safe, test for date-rape drugs in beverages, and have found success on that front.
The principle behind the harm reduction approach, according to the Harm Reduction Coalition, is “…a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use.”
The director of the addiction medicine fellowship program at Boston Medical Center, Dr. Alexander Walley, began tracking the fentanyl test strips since Insite, a harm reduction needle exchange program based in Vancouver, started using them in 2016.
“At the end of the day,” Walley said on NPR’s “All Things Considered, “I think giving people knowledge about what they’re putting in their body is a good thing more than a bad thing.”
Organizations, such as DanceSafe, don’t advocate drug use or abuse. All of their messaging, in fact, focuses on the argument that no drug is 100 percent safe. Yet, harm-reduction supporters are realistic about drug abuse, which is why some musical festival promoters have teamed up with activists in an attempt to give concertgoers a place to test the purity of drugs like ecstasy and MDMA.
The Problem of Fentanyl and Heroin
Fentanyl is a particularly pernicious synthetic opioid that’s a hundred times more powerful than morphine. Dealers will cut heroin with fentanyl or carfentanil, a fentanyl derivative used to anesthetize animals the size of elephants, because these drugs are cheaper and stretch their heroin supply, resulting in greater profits. Obviously, there is no regard for the safety of customers.
The crisis of opioid-related deaths shows no signs of slowing. A staggering first estimate by the government puts the number of drug overdoses in 2016 at 64,000, an increase of 540 percent in just three years. Fatal drug overdoses are now the leading cause of preventable death for Americans under 50 years old.
A vast number of these fatalities are caused by fentanyl-laced heroin. The White House called the opioid crisis a national emergency on August 6, though the administration has taken no further action to make the declaration official. This means state and local administrators are unable to apply for federal relief and aid to solve the skyrocketing number of opioid-related deaths.
Using Fentanyl Test Strips
DanceSafe offers step-by-step instructions on how to use the test strips for heroin and other injected drugs, suggesting that the best method is to test drug residue from the spoon or other types of cookers. These instructions include some of the following:
- Set the needle aside and wait to inject after preparing the dose
- Add tiny amount of water, preferably distilled water, to the spoon or cooker
- Take a clean needle and use the bottom end to stir the water and residue
- Taking the blue end of the test-strip, insert into the test area for no less than 15 seconds
- Wait two minutes for results
The guidelines for interpreting the results are listed right below the instructions. DanceSafe makes it clear in their disclaimer that “…fentanyl test strips are provided for harm reduction only. They cannot detect every fentanyl analog, nor can they detect other synthetic opiates. A negative test result does not mean a sample is safe to consume. No drug use is 100% [sic] safe. All drugs contain inherent risks.”
Healthcare professionals and harm reduction advocates realize that testing-strip technology is not a fix for the thousands of people dying from opioid overdoses. It is, however, one small step in saving the lives of people struggling with addiction who have friends and family that hold out hope that their loved one will not end up a statistic.
Dr. Walley, the Boston Medical Center addiction specialist, put the fentanyl testing strips into perspective when he considered the overall public opioid health crisis for NPR:
“…even when [heroin users] know they’re going to be positive for fentanyl, the experience of somebody testing their drugs and seeing that it’s fentanyl has an impact. It encourages them to use more safely.”
Credit: Fentanyl Test Strip image courtesy of DanceSafe
Related:
What are the 5 steps SAMHSA Recommends for an Opioid or Heroin Overdose?
Treatment for Heroin Addiction
Choosing Between Inpatient and Outpatient Addiction Treatment
Stories of Heroin and Opioid Addiction and Overdose
