DRUG TESTING STRIPS CAN SAVE LIVES AND REDUCE OVERDOSES—BUT MANY STATES BAN USING THEM

The ultra-potent synthetic opioid fentanyl is fueling the unprecedented surge in overdose deaths to record numbers—yet a straightforward way to save lives using drug-testing strips is banned in more than a dozen states, depriving healthcare workers of a valuable tool to reduce fatalities. Testing illicit drugs for toxins can help those struggling with opioid use disorder avoid such substances. But test strips are illegal in more than a dozen states, including Florida and Texas, because they are classified as drug paraphernalia, making it a crime to possess or distribute them. These states contend that testing strips only facilitate drug use, while advocates argue that the ban on test strips only aggravates the crisis and further marginalizes drug users. Health officials say this misses an obvious reality: for millions of Americans, quitting cold turkey is simply not an option, and further, every possible tool should be made available—including testing strips—that can detect the presence of deadly fentanyl in heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine, and other drugs. This is especially important as the drug floods into the country, mostly from Mexico, and often in the form of counterfeit prescription pills. Test strips remain illegal in 19 states, many in the South, due to bills passed there in the 1970s at the urging of the DEA, which criminalized drug paraphernalia. The government must take action to not only legalize testing strips as part of harm reduction strategies but also to invest in new technologies that can identify and detect more precisely how much fentanyl is present and the level of danger it poses.