“Overdoses are one of the things we are thinking about,” Green fentanyl and xylazine test strips said. “We have to get to people before they overdose.” If people come to the testing sites with various drug-related physical conditions, they can be monitored, she said. When people find out a drug, such as fentanyl or cocaine, is contaminated, some will stop using and go into treatment, Pack said. Research is beginning to show that cheap strips can accurately detect deadly fentanyl, and encourages people to get high more cautiously.
Naloxone Co-Payment Assistance Program
The veterinary sedative xylazine has been mostly described on the East Coast—yet early reports indicate that it is now arriving to West Coast fentanyl markets. Emerging drug checking approaches can provide information about the concentration and prevalence of xylazine in illicit fentanyl. AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod has a separate program using test strips for fentanyl as well as a drug checking machine that provides more in-depth information on other drugs.
- Contaminants including fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are now present in the illicit drug supply throughout the U.S.
- The easiest and most inexpensive way to accomplish this is often through use of fentanyl test strips and xylazine test strips.
- Project COPE is focusing efforts on four high-risk and underserved populations.
- The program is a state-funded collaboration between the university, state public health officials, harm reduction community groups and town police departments.
Overdose Lifeline solo puede proporcionar naloxona a los residentes de Indiana.
Words matter when engaging with people with substance use and substance use disorder. Take the person-centered approach when speaking to your clients and create an inviting space for an open conversation on substance use. Overdose prevention and intervention education should be done with all individuals regardless of substance use disorder diagnosis, last date of use, or intended substance of use. Specialists are waiting for your call to lend an ear or give advice if you want it. You may be eligible to receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs for naloxone through the Department of Aging’s Naloxone Copay Assistance Program. You can also use your Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to buy naloxone.
Can medications affect urine test results?
- Although naloxone can reverse nitrazene overdoses, even tiny amounts can be lethal, and high or repeated doses of naloxone may be required.
- For instance xylazine has been detected nationally, and on the West Coast among smaller samples derived from xylazine testing strips on drug paraphernalia, and patient urine samples (Friedman et al., 2024, Thompson et al., 2024).
- No special approval or limits are required, and you can get naloxone as many times as needed.
- Be sure to watch the video below to learn the signs of an overdose, as well as how to respond to one and take the steps below to prevent opioid overdose.
Harm reduction advocates have tried to develop methods to test drugs, but often such testing occurs after a catastrophe, spurring new additives and changes that go undetected. Fentanyl samples from a community-based drug checking program in Los Angeles, California were assessed using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS). A subset was analyzed with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to quantify the concentration of xylazine, fentanyl, and other compounds. A new study co-led by a Rhode Island epidemiologist found that a simple drug testing strip — similar to a home pregnancy test — accurately detected the potentially deadly opioid fentanyl in street drug samples. Fentanyl, which is 50 times as potent as heroin, laces many batches of heroin and cocaine, and it is now involved in at least half of all opioid overdose deaths. More than 70,000 people died of drug overdoses last year—the equivalent of about three 747 plane crashes each week.
$1 Fentanyl Test Strip Could Be a Major Weapon against Opioid ODs
The Department of Health’s naloxone standing order is a prescription written for the general public, allowing anyone to purchase naloxone at their pharmacy. The copyright and other intellectual property rights in this document are owned by CADTH and its licensors. These rights are protected by the Canadian Copyright Act and other national and international laws and agreements.
This has been critical to reducing complications and barriers to drug checking, allowing for ease of use & widespread adoption of best practices. Naloxone is available at pharmacies across the state at low or no cost; naloxone kits and training sessions are available upon request. When 16-year-old Victor Nelson of Poughkeepsie, NY, ordered naloxone from the OASAS website, he never expected he would need to use it.
Xylazine/Fentanyl Test Strip for Liquid and Powder Substances – Fast, Easy and Simple to Use Forensic Test
The easiest and most inexpensive way to accomplish this is often through use of fentanyl test strips and xylazine test strips. This resource outlines the legality of drug checking equipment in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Test strips allow people/communities, health care providers and criminal justice agencies to stay informed about potential harms in the illicit drug supply. While strips cannot determine the quantity, purity, or type of fentanyl in a sample, they have demonstrated utility in detecting whether the presence of certain harmful additives like fentanyl or xylazine.
Yes, It have an expiration date and should be stored in a cool, dry place to maintain accuracy.
In sum, this work presents one of the first analyses documenting the proliferation of xylazine in the West Coast illicit fentanyl supply of the United States, finding a significantly increasing prevalence over time between 2023 and 2025. It also provides the largest sample of quantitative xylazine testing results to-date. Future research is needed to assess the potential health impacts of low concentration xylazine adulteration of fentanyl samples.
Among illicit fentanyl samples from community drug checking sites in LA, we note a significant increase in xylazine positivity over time, especially after 2024 Q2. In the most recent data in our study, xylazine was present in 1 out of every 4–5 fentanyl samples. A 5-pack testing kit containing all necessary materials for a simple, mess-free process.
The state Department of Public Health overdose deaths dashboard has reported all substance abuse deaths by state, county or city for the last six years. The latest data from July 2023 to June 2024 showed a statewide total of 3,692 substance related deaths, including 1,763 opioid related deaths, down from 2,317 the previous year. “Overdose deaths reduced statewide and nationwide has a lot to do with the support and with the supply,” Green said. Less fentanyl in the drugs has reduced overdoses by a quarter to a third, she said. For the test strips only for fentanyl, a tiny powdered sample is dipped into a small amount of water and the strip is inserted. The clinics give out hundreds of the test strips to clients to do their own testing, Pack said.
Dean Dr. Linda Cottler about National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) insights on nitrazenes. She pointed me to a report covering January 2023 to April 2025 showing that most nitrazene overdoses occurred in the southeastern region of the United States. Dr Cottler said the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC) Street Drug Analysis Lab detected nitrazenes in 135 samples from 14 states as of the end of April 2025. Yet labs often miss these drugs because they are either not tested for or are present in tiny amounts.
This may bias the results in an unpredictable direction if samples with more mass available were likelier to contain more or less xylazine. Fentanyl and Xylazine 2-in-1 Test Strips are highly potent substances with serious health risks, making it essential to test for their presence in medical, forensic, and harm reduction settings. Our Fentanyl & Xylazine Drug Test Kits offer a quick and accurate way to detect these dangerous substances, giving you peace of mind. Whether you’re a healthcare provider, a harm reduction organization, or someone who values drug safety, our test kits are a dependable choice for identifying fentanyl and xylazine in various samples. Due to the known harms and prevalence of xylazine in the unregulated drug supply, there is ongoing research to support the detection of this substance.