Cities across the country are distributing drug testing kits hoping to save lives. Fentanyl test strips can check to see if drugs contain fentanyl, a powerful and deadly painkiller almost instantly.
Fentanyl is being added to many street drugs to increase the high and it is also increasing death rates. People are overdosing at record numbers.
Using the test kits are simple — someone can put their heroin, cocaine, or even weed, in a cup and stick in a strip. The small test strip goes into the mix and depending on how many red lines you see, fentanyl has been detected.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found most users want to know if their drugs have fentanyl and many would change their behavior if they knew. Dealers are lacing all sorts of drugs with fentanyl because it’s cheaper and gives users a better high, but it’s so powerful it is killing people.
So could these testing kits make a difference in our area? Gates Police Chief James VanBrederode said if used correctly, it might.
“It’s a great idea for some people and some people might take the time to do it,” VanBrederode said. “But I think you’ll see it’s a very small minority of people that are going to do this.”
Jim Wesley, a former crime lab technician and drug prevention educator, said he thinks the kits could save lives, but should be carefully distributed.
“I think you would have to sit down with a committee and come up with a campaign to explain the limitations and the benefits,” Wesley said. “This is not something that’s going to be used to buy more fentanyl.”
Some officials in cities including Baltimore, Columbus, and Philadelphia have started giving these tests along with clean needles. Right now, these kits are not being distributed in our area but anyone can order them online. They cost anywhere from $1 to $3 each.
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