More states blame fentanyl test strips as overdose surges

When time was running out in Congress in 2022, Georgia lawmakers introduced a bill to regulate raw milk.

A fix was added suddenly House version of the billAlthough the new wording had nothing to do with dairy products.The word called for legalizing the use of strips to test drugs for fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that fuels a wave of deadly overdose throughout Georgia and the United States.

The amendment was said by Sen. Jen JordanThe Atlanta Democrats who sponsored it were “a common-sense solution to save lives.”

The revised milk bill was overwhelmingly passed on the final day of the General Assembly. If the bill does not veto from Republican Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia will be added to the list of states that will denounce the use of fentanyl test strips as the drug tragedy spreads across the country.

Governor of New Mexico and Wisconsin signed bills this year to allow test strips in these states, and Tennessee and Alabama parliaments recently passed similar legislation. In Pennsylvania, state law bans test strips, but the mayors of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have ordered that people in possession of test strips be banned from prosecution. The state prosecutor’s chief said he would not charge people for having a test strip. Fearing the surge in deaths from overdose, Alaska health officials have begun distributing free test strips. Ohio vending machines offer fentanyl detection devices along with naloxone, a drug to undo overdose.

However Florida State Capitol rebounded this year With a bill to make test strips non-criminal. Fentanyl test equipment, which was banned by drug-related laws decades ago, remains illegal in about half of the states, drug policy experts say.

However, many public health and addiction experts have contaminated fentanyl as what is known as a “harm reduction” tactic to prevent death from overdose due to illegal drugs that users may not know. We are promoting high-speed inspection equipment.

“We hope that all states are aware of the extremely high risk of contamination and that the fentanyl test strips will empower those taking the drug to know if they have fentanyl,” he said. rice field. Nora VolkovDirector of the National Institute of Health Sciences Substance Abuse Institute.

The street version of fentanyl, an illegally manufactured and approved painkiller, is mainly brought from Mexico to the United States. Fentanyl is up to 100 times As powerful as morphine. It is commonly found in what is sold as heroin — often completely occupying its place.It can also be Mix with cocaineMethamphetamine, and counterfeit street pills sold as opioid drugs — substances that many buyers do not expect to contain fentanyl.

The spread of fentanyl has helped to lead to a surprising increase in deaths from drug overdose. Synthetic opioids containing fentanyl Two-thirds of deaths from drug overdose in the United States According to Volko, three-quarters of deaths from cocaine overdose last year were related to fentanyl.

“Fentanyl is so powerful that you can hold your breath at very low doses,” she said.

The fentanyl epidemic also “exacerbated racial inequality,” Folko added. From 2019 to 2021, deaths from overdose of fentanyl more than tripled among teens. Five-fold surge among black teensAccording to an analysis of data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produced by the advocacy group Families Against Fentanyl.

Last month, the Drug Enforcement Bureau I sent a letter To federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities warning of a nationwide surge in fentanyl-related overdose events. “Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate,” said the DEA administrator. Ann Milgram.. “Already this year, numerous overdose events have caused dozens of overdose and deaths.”

Test strips are cheap and cost about $ 1. Drug users can take a small amount of the substance, add water, and soak the strip in the solution for a short time. If you see one red stripe on the strip, you have fentanyl. The two stripes mean that the drug cannot be found.

The disadvantage is that the test strip does not measure the amount of fentanyl in the drug.

Still, strips are effective in detecting “very small amounts of fentanyl,” said an epidemiologist at Brown University. Brandon MarshallPart of the team you have Researched illegal drug users and devices on Rhode Island.. According to Marshall, many of the participants who tried the strip discarded the substance if fentanyl was present, if the drug was used with someone else, or if naloxone was available during use.

A Similar studies on intravenous drug users in North Carolina Three out of four found showed that fentanyl strips made them feel that they could protect themselves from overdose.

In South Carolina, which made the fentanyl test strips available, the state sends anonymous surveys to those who receive them. Sarah GoldsbyThe director of the South Carolina Alcohol and Other Substance Abuse Services Department said the survey’s response was that people who use strips use less drug, and some choose not to use the drug altogether, overdose. He said it shows that he feels safer to prevent.

“It’s not a silver bullet to deal with the danger of overdose, but it can be an important tool for keeping people safe,” added Brown’s Marshall.

In Georgia, where the test bill is awaiting Governor’s approval, public health officials said fentanyl-related overdose deaths from May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021 compared to the same span. In 2019 and 2020, it said it surged after the start of the covid-19 pandemic, which doubled in between.

Also, according to Dr. Jay Goldstein, Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Memorial Health, fentanyl-related overdose has recently surged in Savannah, Georgia. He said many overdose patients were surprised at the efficacy of the medicines they consumed, but said that giving them strips was afraid not to stop their use.

“Sadly, fentanyl gives stronger highs, so some users want to take fentanyl into medicine, but the risk of crashes and burning is much worse,” he said.

Current drug-related laws could discourage states and organizations from applying for grants to buy test strips or creating programs to distribute them, he said. Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association.. However, in many states that have not criminalized the Strip, those in possession of the documents have not been prosecuted.

“People can be prosecuted, but especially for these test strips, they are not generally prosecuted,” Georgia said. Pete Skanda Rakis, Managing Director of the Georgia Prosecutor’s Council. He supported the modification of the test strip.

Despite the current Georgia ban Atlanta Harm Mitigation Coalition The organization said it would distribute the strip to individual drug users and other community members.

Meanwhile, Georgian families who saw their loved ones die from overdose of fentanyl favor making test strips more accessible.

Doreen Barr of Fayette County, a suburb of Atlanta, lost her son seven years ago in a combination of heroin and fentanyl.She set Non-profit foundation In the name of Ryan Burr to educate people about addiction.

Barr said she believes test strips can save lives.

“Why don’t you bring a fentanyl strip?” She said. “Cocaine or fake pills may contain fentanyl. It can kill you once. If they had a test strip, they probably wouldn’t receive it.”

Correspondent Lauren Saucer of KHN South Carolina contributed to this article.