Concomitant use of opioids with benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants, including alcohol, may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death. It must be introduced into the bloodstream or a mucus membrane in order for someone to feel the effects. While there are fentanyl patches that can be placed on the skin for pain management, this is not the formulation that’s cut into other substances. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is illegal and can be sold as powder, nasal spray or pills that look like other prescription opioids. Fentanyl can be known by street names such as Apache, China Girl, Dance Fever or Goodfellas. Comparable to fentanyl, fentanyl analogs have similar chemical structure and effects.

Its strong potency means it can be used in operating rooms, to control pain after surgery and to alleviate pain for people with advanced cancer. But its effectiveness at relieving pain and increasing pleasure also have made it a popular street drug with dangerous risks of addiction, overdose and death. The tested drug can still be consumed by the individual once the test results confirm the presence or absence of fentanyl.

“The work is vitally important and the results can make an impact. In this case, we’re really talking a life-and-death impact and saving lives,” DelPonte told NPR. April told me one story about a client of theirs that was suicidal—he had told them as much. They kept getting 911 calls reporting that he had walked into traffic.

• If you plan to use IV drugs, prepare the shot, set the needle aside, and add about one-fifth teaspoon of water to the spoon/cooker with the drug.
• Many harm reduction tools and strategies are present in different forms across the country, and now fentanyl test strips have joined the discussion.
• Having access and education surrounding drug testing mechanisms has allowed states, like Rhode Island, to prevent overdose deaths from fentanyl in their community.

Become a Harm Reduction Champion

After 15 seconds, take it out and lay it flat on a clean surface. This is the same process you’d follow if you’re wondering how to use fentanyl test strip in general. You’re not using this drug now—you’re testing it first. Knowing how to use test strips starts with having something ready to test.

Even if you’re in a rush, take a few extra seconds to do it right. The test can only work if the water touches enough of the drug. Fentanyl test strips aren’t just helpful—they save lives. This drug is often mixed into pills or powders without warning. People don’t know it’s there until it’s too late. Learning how to use fentanyl test strips effectively gives you a way to stop and check.

Resources for those using or abusing opioids

The risks of fentanyl are even greater for people using cocaine, methamphetamine, or other drugs because their bodies are not used to using opioids and even a small amount of fentanyl can be deadly. Many people may be unaware that their non-opioid drugs like cocaine contain fentanyl. Naloxone — also known by the brand names such as Narcan and Kloxxado — is a prescription medication that reverses an opioid overdose. While it works quickly, naloxone is a temporary solution that works for 30 to 90 minutes. It’s available both for those who have been prescribed fentanyl and those who are misusing fentanyl. Naloxone may be available without a prescription at community-based programs, local public health groups or local health departments.

Drug deaths plummet among young Americans as fentanyl carnage eases

Four regional Bridge Clinic hubs serve patients from any Mass General Brigham location and community members through both in-person and virtual care. Any provider can prescribe buprenorphine, a lifesaving medication that has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from overdose by more than 50%. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s up to 50 times stronger than heroin and has become increasingly common in the illicit drug supply according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many of the fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States involve fentanyl. Over the last few years, overdoses involving fentanyl have continued to rise. With the popularity of drug dealers mixing fentanyl into other drugs, fentanyl test strips can help people who use drugs identify whether what they are taking contains fentanyl or not.

Drop in drug deaths

The National Harm Reduction Coalition website can help you find fentanyl strips nearby. Health care providers, substance use disorder programs or Bridge Clinics, and local community health centers also may be able to provide them or help people find them. Nitazenes are synthetic opioids that faqs what are fentanyl test strips are produced in China and, like fentanyl, can be found mixed in drugs like heroin and pills. The Wall Street Journal reports the drug is so potent, even trace amounts can be fatal — and it’s already caused at least 400 deaths in the U.K. You may have gotten some fentanyl testing strips from End Overdose, but have you ever wondered how they work? Drug testing strips are a great tool and measure for preventing overdose deaths, by giving more information on the contents of a substance.

• What it will take to keep Evan off the street, that’s after the break.
• To help reduce the risk of fentanyl abuse, addiction and overdose, the Food and Drug Administration requires fentanyl prescriptions to be closely monitored to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks.
• Designed to detect the presence of fentanyl—a powerful synthetic opioid often found in street drugs—these strips offer a quick and affordable way to test substances before use.
• A false negative can occur when a substance does contain fentanyl, but the testing strip shows a negative result.
• If you’re young and unsure what to do next, a drug rehab for young adults might be a good fit.

Opioid use disorder treatment saves lives.

Fentanyl test strips work to inform an individual of the presence or absence of fentanyl in a substance. These strips can be used to test drug or non-drug materials, as long as it can be dissolved in water! If someone has a drug they plan to use, fentanyl testing strips give the individual a clearer image about what the substance contains. In just a few minutes, an individual can have the knowledge as to if fentanyl is present in their substance. This information can be critical to someone, especially if they are not planning to use opioids or fentanyl. Due to the high potency of fentanyl, unknowingly consuming fentanyl can lead to an unwanted experience, and even an opioid overdose.

For more information on how to use Fentanyl safely, check out these Fentanyl Use & Overdose Prevention Tips. Receive free access to exclusive content, a personalized homepage based on your interests, and a weekly newsletter with the topics of your choice. Additionally, some people use the ultrapotent fentanyl analog carfentanil, which is legally used to sedate large animals. Illegal fentanyl can be used in the same ways as prescribed fentanyl.

The addition of the anaesthetic can “intensify the drug’s side effects” — and because it isn’t an opioid, it also means an overdose on purple fentanyl can’t be reversed with Narcan, the Omaha Police Department warned. Historically, up to 75 percent of incarcerated people with opioid-use disorder will relapse within three months of release. Many of them do so having lost their tolerance, which sends the risk of overdose and death through the roof—which is one of the reasons why many people think this is not the way forward.

Fentanyl is extremely strong, and even a small amount can kill. This is what makes how to use a fentanyl test strip worth learning in the first place. Take the test strip and dip the end with the arrows into the water. Don’t dip it too deep—just past the line marked on the strip.

If you plan to use IV drugs, prepare the shot, set the needle aside, and add about one-fifth teaspoon of water to the spoon/cooker with the drug. Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that were originally created to detect fentanyl in urine. But you can also use them to see whether a drug contains fentanyl in just a few minutes.