Fentanyl test strips legalized to save lives

June 27, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, September 23, 2016 in New York City. New York State Attorney General Eric Scheiderman's office announced Friday that authorities in New York state have made a record drug bust, seizing 33 kilograms of heroin and 2 kilograms of fentanyl. According to the attorney general's office, it is the largest seizure in the 46 year history of New York's Organized Crime Task Force. Twenty-five peopole living in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona and New Jersey have been indicted in connection with the case. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:08 PM PT – Sunday, June 27, 2021

Fentanyl test strips have so far been approved in multiple states in an effort to save lives. In order to prevent overdoses, test strips are being legalized to detect the opioid which is more potent than morphine.

“A deadly dose of Fentanyl is not very much at all, it’s a couple of granules…and because it’s showing up in drugs and people don’t know it, because it’s not regulated in any capacity, and because it’s so strong and potent it is accidently being mixed into drugs, or it’s really easy to accidently put too much in a drug,” stated Executive Director of Sonoran Prevention Works Haley Coles.

In 2019, over 50 percent of overdose deaths were related to fentanyl and the situation has only grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biden’s Border Crisis is fueling the opioid crisis.pic.twitter.com/FJzXnKOvgl

— GOP (@GOP) June 26, 2021

The small strips of paper allow users to test if their drugs are laced with fentanyl. The test strips are currently only available online or from a drug prevention group at no cost.

The strips are considered illegal in other states, however states including Colorado, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Maryland and Arizona have decriminalized them and hope to increase distribution.