Fentanyl Strips

Brief Summary of Fentanyl Strips

Fentanyl is an extremely strong synthesized, lab-produced, opiate (1). Opioids are a category of pain-relieving drugs (1,2). As described by Mayo Clinic in the article, What are opioids and why are they dangerous?, the substance travels from your bloodstream to the brain where it will connect itself to the opioid receptors found in the brain cells (neurons). Consequently, the cell will send out signals that mask your perception of pain and promote the feeling of pleasure (2). The National Institute on Drug Abuse compares fentanyl to morphine but 50-100 times stronger (1). There is an increased amount of attention on fentanyl due to the surge of synthetic opioid-related deaths in the United States. 70,601 overdose-related deaths caused by synthetic opioids-primarily fentanyl-occurred in 2021 (3).

The deadly substance is mostly found in methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin (4). Note it can be found in powder, liquid, and pill form. 1-2 milligrams can be deadly to the consumer.Outside of a lab setting a form to detect if an illicit drug contains fentanyl is to use fentanyl strips. The general steps are the following: dissolve a small portion of the drug with water, dip the strip into the mixture for around 15 seconds, remove the test strip, and wait 5 minutes for results. If one line appears the substance is positive for fentanyl. Two lines mean negative. If the test strip does not show one or two lines it is invalid and steps need to be repeated with another strip (7,8).

The test strips are a harm reduction tool to help prevent fentanyl-related deaths. However, some states made the test strips illegal or hard to access due to their classification as drug paraphilia (9). A few of the states that made fentanyl strips and other drug testing equipment illegal are; Texas, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, and many other states (9,10,11). As of recently (June 28, 2023), Florida legalized fentanyl test strips (12,13). There is still legislation being pushed in some of the states that currently classify fentanyl strips as illegal. For instance, in Texas, there's a push to amend the Controlled Substances Act so that fentanyl strips are legal. Overwhelmingly the Texas House voted to decriminalize fentanyl strips, but unfortunately, the Senate didn’t take action on the bill during the session (14). However, Texas continues to fight for the decriminalization of fentanyl strips. Fentanyl strips are cheaper and more easily distributed when it comes to overdose prevention tools. It’s important to stress that fentanyl strips can only detect fentanyl. It can not inform the user of how much or how strong the fentanyl in the drug is (15).

Citations for Fentantly Strips