Author: John Carter

Fentanyl Test Strips: A Harm Reduction Strategy

A health care professional uses a needle to take a blood sample from a vein in your arm. Opioid testing can also be part of long-term opioid therapy. That’s when your doctor prescribes opioids for an extended time to treat severe pain that’s not caused by cancer treatment or part of end-of-life care.

Fentanyl can slow or stop your breathing and may be habit-forming. MISUSE OF NARCOTIC MEDICINE CAN CAUSE ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, OR DEATH, especially in a child or other person using the medicine without a prescription. If you have questions or concerns about a drug test, talk with your provider or the person or organization that is asking for the test. During this test, a health care worker swabs the inside of your cheek to collect a sample. You’ll get instructions and a container to collect your sample. Collect at least 1-2 ounces of urine or fill it past the line on the cup.

If you’re using a different type of drug, use half a teaspoon of water instead. Fentanyl test strips aren’t perfect, but most people find them easy to use. The best way to use them is to dissolve all the drugs you plan to use in water. Fentanyl might not be everywhere evenly in your product, so if you only test a portion of your supply you might end up missing it. In 2021, the CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that federal grant recipients, such as nonprofit drug-treatment and harm-reduction centers, can use grant money to buy the test strips. Even though many tests are sensitive, if you test just a portion of the drugs, the fentanyl may be hiding elsewhere.

What is a fentanyl sublingual spray?

Xylazine is dangerous because it can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to critical levels and, in combination with fentanyl, can make overdose reversal challenging. Research has shown that people who use fentanyl test strips often make changes that can keep them safer. In one study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 70% of participants said they would change their behavior if they knew the drugs they used contained fentanyl. More advanced fentanyl detection may be available via drug-checking services such as Energy Control and Drugs Data, each of which send your substance off to a lab to be tested for contaminants if you mail them in. Fentanyl test strips pick up on the most common kinds of fentanyl about 97 percent of the time, so the user can avoid taking the substance, or, if they’re still intent on taking it, reduce the amount they take. Fentanyl patches are used for long-lasting pain relief, and for fast-acting pain relief, fentanyl nasal sprays, lollipops, injections, sublingual tablets, and sprays are used.

Data sources include Micromedex (updated 3 Mar 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 4 Mar 2024), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2024) and others. This is not all the information you need to know about fentanyl test strips for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your healthcare provider’s advice. Review and follow the full test strip information before use, as directions may vary among tests. Discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider. Whichever method you use, you’re still more likely to find out whether synthetic opioids are in your drugs than if you hadn’t tested—just before you use your drugs, instead of after. “If no red lines appear, it means the test is invalid and you should redo it,” said Jaydeep Tripathy, a primary care doctor at Doctor Spring.

How do I use fentanyl test strips?

You can speed up the process by putting the dissolved drugs in a pan in the oven on the lowest setting (maximum of 225 F) while keeping the oven door cracked. When the water evaporates and the pan is cool, you can scrape the residue off with a razor or other sharp item. Some community programs also offer drug-checking services, which you can find by Googling “community drug evaluation services and resources” and the name of your city, said Giordano.

Another study [15] found that 91% of people reporting opioid use had at least one fentanyl-positive urine sample, yet only 18% reported using fentanyl. Another study that urine-tested individuals in a withdrawal management program [12] found that of those reporting they had never been exposed to fentanyl, two-thirds tested positive for fentanyl. It should be noted that some studies [16,29] utilized fentanyl testing but did not compare results with self-report that limits understanding regarding unknown exposure. The other studies focused mainly or solely on fentanyl detection and detected high prevalence of fentanyl. A recent study in Canada [4▪] determined that 91% of purported heroin samples tested positive for fentanyl, and 6 and 2% of (meth)amphetamine and cocaine, respectively, also tested positive for fentanyl.

1. At festivals and nightclubs, however, participants almost solely submit party drugs (e.g., ecstasy, LSD) for analysis [6▪,7,28], and fentanyl is almost never detected in samples.
2. Most opioid tests are given at a doctor’s office, a lab, or a testing site.
3. That’s when your doctor prescribes opioids for an extended time to treat severe pain that’s not caused by cancer treatment or part of end-of-life care.
4. The best way to use them is to dissolve all the drugs you plan to use in water.

Test strips can also be utilized anywhere and they are inexpensive (~$1 each). However, fentanyl strips are qualitative so they cannot measure the amount present in samples and cannot differentiate between fentanyl analogs. Fentanyl test strips were also not originally designed to test drug product [22], and BTNX single drug test strips cannot detect drugs other than fentanyl and some of its analogs [23]. They may also be too sensitive, testing positive in response to trace amounts of drug, which may leave some consumers who test positive believing they can now handle fentanyl exposure [22]. Fentanyl test strips are an important tool to help prevent a drug overdose from illegally-made fentanyl, a potent and often deadly opioid.

Fentanyl and Xylazine Test Strips

Most opioid tests are given at a doctor’s office, a lab, or a testing site. In some cases, a trained person may visit your home or workplace to collect specimens. Doctors might also order opioid tests if you transfer to a new doctor for your long-term opioid treatment or need a referral to a pain specialist.

As noted above, there appears to be somewhat of a dichotomy between drug-using populations currently at high risk for fentanyl exposure and low risk for exposure, and published studies appear to focus largely on one population or the other. At festivals and nightclubs, however, participants almost solely submit party drugs (e.g., ecstasy, LSD) for analysis [6▪,7,28], and fentanyl is almost never detected in samples. Many studies assessed participants’ intention to change their behavior if learning their drug was adulterated. With regard to studies focusing mainly or only on fentanyl exposure, one study [3▪▪] found that 70% of respondents learning that their drugs contained fentanyl would reportedly modify their behavior.

When MS is unavailable or infeasible, a combination of techniques discussed above appears to help balance limitations of each separate test. Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative that is approved by FDA for animal use, but not for people. Xylazine is increasingly added to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or fentanyl to enhance the effect or increase street value.

Where to buy fentanyl test strips?

Some studies found that having to visit a specific place at a specific time could limit interest in testing [32,33]. Some target populations may also not be willing to wait more than a few minutes for test results [32]. Various technologies are being used to detect the presence of fentanyl, its analogs, and other NPS in drug samples. Proxy drug checking, which we define as biospecimen testing for drug exposure postconsumption, is also becoming common. However, there appears to a dichotomy between research focusing on populations at high risk for fentanyl exposure and to exposure to NPS such as synthetic cathinones. Drug checking services invite drug consumers to anonymously submit drug samples for chemical analysis and provide feedback of results.

Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Even though Radovanovic’s tests were negative, he’s still happy he made the choice to test. “This seemed like a smart thing to do, and I’m super glad I did,” he added. “Unfortunately, unregulated drugs are a mystery, even when you get [them] from a reputable dealer.” Indeed, even if a dealer is someone you know, they themselves can’t be sure if they’re getting a contaminated batch. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with fentanyl and lead to unwanted side effects.