For anyone who is in recovery from opioid addiction or who knows someone who is, NARCAN is nothing less than a miracle. This medication has saved thousands of lives already by rapidly reversing the powerfully sedating effects that occur during an opioid overdose. Another tool that’s appeared on the front lines of the opioid epidemic more recently is the fentanyl test strip.
However, there are dissenting voices who claim the availability of these tools is serving to encourage people who misuse opioids to continue doing so. In this article, Georgia Addiction Center tackles these controversial questions about NARCAN and fentanyl test strips.
Why is There Fentanyl in Everything Now?
Drug cartels favor fentanyl because it’s cheaper than natural, opium-derived heroin and far more potent. It’s also often easier for them to smuggle fentanyl precursors into the country than heroin. Genuine prescription painkillers have become much harder to get on the black market due to crackdowns by law enforcement and stricter standards following the OxyContin epidemic.
In response, organized crime has stepped up the production of fake opioid tablets which usually contain fentanyl. Because fentanyl is so potent, it can be hard for illicit manufacturers to accurately control the amount they mix into heroin or pills. As little as 2-3 milligrams of pure fentanyl can be deadly. That’s about half the size of a grain of rice.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health, fentanyl is now the leading cause of fatal opioid overdoses in the U.S. Most of these fentanyl overdoses occur when people unwittingly take an unknown amount of the drug because it’s mixed into street heroin (and increasingly, counterfeit prescription painkillers).
What is NARCAN?
NARCAN is a brand name for a form of Naloxone that’s dispensed via intramuscular injection or a fast-acting over-the-counter nasal spray. Naloxone, the active ingredient in NARCAN is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors to reverse and block the effects of opioids.
NARCAN in nasal spray form is available without a prescription now following emergency rule changes by the FDA to increase its availability due to an alarming spike in fatal opioid overdoses in the U.S. It can reverse an overdose so a person will begin breathing again. But, it’s important to recognize that NARCAN is only a temporary solution. Its effects last only 30-90 minutes at most.
That said, anyone who has overdosed still requires medical attention. An ambulance should be called or they should be brought to a hospital immediately. With the prevalence of fentanyl in more than 70% of street heroin and 60% of seized counterfeit prescription pills, the risk of overdose is higher than ever. Another concern is that due to the potency of fentanyl, many people now require more than one dose of NARCAN to revive them. If someone has overdosed, call 911, even if you have administered NARCAN.
How Can I Get NARCAN?
NARCAN in the nasal spray form, is available in all 50 states without a prescription now. If your state has a syringe exchange program for IV drug users, they will almost certainly have emergency NARCAN kits. If you have health insurance, your health insurance provider will often waive copays and/or deductibles for NARCAN.
State health agencies frequently provide emergency NARCAN kits for the asking. If you are in college, ask your college or university health department. Local non-profit community groups also distribute NARCAN. If you have trouble finding it in your area, give us a call at (855) 952-3546 and we will try to help you in any way we can.
To find NARCAN try:
- Asking your healthcare provider
- Asking your health insurance company
- Needle exchange programs
- Contact your state health department
- Some pharmacies offer free NARCAN
- Ask your school, college or university health department
What are Fentanyl Test Strips? How Do They Work?
A more recent development in the battle against fatal opioid overdoses is the fentanyl test strip. Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that are chemically treated to react in the presence of fentanyl. You can use them to test for fentanyl in heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, painkiller tablets or just about anything.
The substance needs to be in solution though. So you would need to grind it up (if necessary) and mix it thoroughly with a small amount of clean water. Dipping the fentanyl test strip into the paper once the solution is mixed will enable the reaction and a line will appear.
Check the directions with the strips, but for most tests, a single pink line indicates fentanyl is present. If fentanyl is detected, be extremely careful in handling the substance. Fentanyl in powder or liquid form can be absorbed through the skin. Note that a negative result does NOT mean a substance is “safe”. Fentanyl test strips may not detect carfentanil, for example.
Where Can I Get Fentanyl Test Strips?
Fentanyl test strips have not been available for the general public for nearly as long as NARCAN, so they may be a little harder to find, but don’t give up. The distribution of fentanyl test strips is the result of a program run by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The federal government sends the strips to state health agencies, so that should be your first stop in trying to get hold of the strips. Call the department of health for your state and ask. Another place to look is local non-profit advocacy groups that help with addiction, for example in Georgia, Stop HIV ATL offers free fentanyl test strips, you can email them at: [email protected]
To get fentanyl test strips try:
- Calling your state department of health
- Contact a local advocacy group (like GHRC in Atlanta)
- Ask a syringe/needle exchange program
- Email Stop HIV ATL for a free fentanyl test kit
What Issues Do People Have with NARCAN or Fentanyl Test Strips?
That’s a good question. It’s important to try to understand dissenting perspectives, even when it is challenging. Understanding the other point of view is the best way to have a potentially productive dialog with the other side and perhaps even change their viewpoint. But, in order to do that, people need to feel heard.
Another important point is not to misrepresent the other person’s opinion. By and large, these folks are not “anti-NARCAN”. Nor do they wish ill upon people with opioid use disorders. The concern people on the other side of this issue have is they feel making NARCAN and fentanyl test strips widely available could make people more likely to misuse drugs.
Their idea is that the threat of fatal overdose should act as a deterrent, especially with all the fentanyl out there. Of course, the better you understand addiction, the more likely you are to see the flaws in this logic. Even if the widespread availability of NARCAN or test strips did encourage drug use, and there is absolutely NO evidence that it does, it would still be the ethical and humane thing to provide these tools freely.
Do Fentanyl Test Strips and NARCAN Encourage Drug Use?
In our view, no, fentanyl test kits and NARCAN do not encourage any meaningful amount of illicit drug use. There are two fundamental problems with the idea that restricting access to NARCAN or fentanyl test strips will discourage illicit opioid use. First of all, it comes from a position of ignorance about the nature of addiction.
Fatal overdose has always been a risk with opioid use. Heroin users had fatal overdoses throughout the early 20th century into the 1960s and beyond. There was no NARCAN available then and fentanyl wasn’t around either. The specter of overdose didn’t discourage many (if any) people then and it doesn’t now.
That’s the thing about addiction. People with addiction know full well they are doing something that’s bad for them and that it could even kill them. Sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. This isn’t a secret. Especially to people addicted to opioids in 2023. You can be sure that almost every one of them knows at least one peer who died due to a fatal opioid overdose at this point.
The same logic applies to fentanyl test strips. Denying people in active addiction access to these tools isn’t going to prevent addiction or save any lives. In fact, there’s a very good chance it could cost some people their lives and we’re not OK with that.
NARCAN and fentanyl test strips should be freely available to anyone who can make good use of them.
Georgia Addiction Treatment Can Help
The madness of addiction does not have to continue unchallenged. All it takes is one phone call to begin moving things in the right direction. When you call Georgia Addiction Treatment, you will be connected to someone who truly understands what you’re experiencing. We can help you make a plan to get your loved one into treatment or even plan an intervention.
Reach us right now at: (855) 952-3546
It’s never too soon for recovery to begin, don’t wait until it’s too late.
