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Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

healthaffairs.org

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Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#11

Post by colechristensen »

rkk3 wrote: post #3

Should really just start selling "Illegal Drugs" in standardized doses like alcohol and pharmaceuticals so people don't get surprised. Drug users may be rational but individual testing puts a huge burden on the consumer that many aren't going to want to pay for in the name of preventing a tail risk.

Yes. It can probably be demonstrated that the most dangerous things about many drugs are impurity, the people you buy them from, and the law enforcement consequences.

Training people how to use drugs in order to be allowed to purchase them and offering mental health services would be far less expensive to society.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#12

Post by Vladimof »

l0ng1nu5 wrote: post #9

The real question we should be asking is why can't these poor people get access to proper medicine and treatment? Instead they have to resort to playing Russian roulette every time they use. Decriminalisation and regulation are the biggest harm reduction measures that could be taken and it would have the added bonus of freeing up space in the prisons and reducing the power of the cartels. There wouldn't be a fent pro…

> why can't these poor people get access to proper medicine and treatment?

Maybe the Government doesn't like the type of people that get addicted to drugs... a friend of mine just died this week from overdose... maybe from Fentanyl but I don't know.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#14

Post by woodruffw »

Havoc wrote: post #7

Can one even get stuff not laced with it these days? As a casual outside observer I thought no. In which case test strips are less useful

> In which case test strips are less useful

Addiction is a powerful compulsion, but so is safety: an addict (or someone who isn't yet an addict) might choose not to use a particular batch if they have access to test strips. Even if they do choose to use: access to test strips allows them to plan for other harm reduction activities.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#15

Post by girvo »

Havoc wrote: post #7

Can one even get stuff not laced with it these days? As a casual outside observer I thought no. In which case test strips are less useful

In the US and Canada: not really.

In other countries, yes. Australia's heroin supply is still basically just heroin, and extremely high purity, even on the street, interestingly.

While fentanyl does exist here, it's not that common. I cannot give a good reason as to why. It's interesting.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#16

Post by woodruffw »

rayiner wrote: post #5

> people who use drugs (PWUD) New acronym just dropped. :-/

It's consistent with the practice of using "people-first language"[1]. It sounds a little clunky to my ears in a lot of individual instances, but the overarching goal (making it harder to subconsciously dehumanize people) seems reasonable to me.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People-first_language

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#18

Post by woodruffw »

girvo wrote: post #15
Havoc wrote: post #7

Can one even get stuff not laced with it these days? As a casual outside observer I thought no. In which case test strips are less useful

In the US and Canada: not really. In other countries, yes. Australia's heroin supply is still basically just heroin, and extremely high purity, even on the street, interestingly. While fentanyl does exist here, it's not that common. I cannot give a good reason as to why. It's interesting.

I'm not saying this is the reason, but out of curiosity: does Australia's drug agency/agencies place as strong of an emphasis on border interdiction? A large part of the US's drug policy emphasizes "flashy" seizures of large amounts of drugs at the border, which has incentivized smugglers to pursue more potent (and therefore more compact) alternatives.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#19

Post by xrd »

l0ng1nu5 wrote: post #9

The real question we should be asking is why can't these poor people get access to proper medicine and treatment? Instead they have to resort to playing Russian roulette every time they use. Decriminalisation and regulation are the biggest harm reduction measures that could be taken and it would have the added bonus of freeing up space in the prisons and reducing the power of the cartels. There wouldn't be a fent pro…

I'm from Portland which recently decriminalized drugs. I'm worried that this has the effect that dealers feel there is no prosecution for selling, and that this has led to a difficult situation for addicts. I'm of the opinion that without good mental health treatment options, this is an idea that creates more addicts who have no way to recover. I would love to understand if I'm wrong, and I know the pandemic is a context unlike anything we've ever seen, but the downtown streets of Portland look like they have many people in shocking states of crisis that to me look like unfettered access to drugs.

Re: Why aren't fentanyl test strips more widespread? (2021)

#20

Post by wahern »

l0ng1nu5 wrote: post #9

The real question we should be asking is why can't these poor people get access to proper medicine and treatment? Instead they have to resort to playing Russian roulette every time they use. Decriminalisation and regulation are the biggest harm reduction measures that could be taken and it would have the added bonus of freeing up space in the prisons and reducing the power of the cartels. There wouldn't be a fent pro…

> The real question we should be asking is why can't these poor people get access to proper medicine and treatment?

Well, here in San Francisco you can access both relatively easily. But it turns out that people with substance abuse addictions tend not to exhibit strong executive functioning (at least contemporaneously) as compared to the average non-abuser. So when you remove all coercive policies whatsoever (because of abstract academic arguments that equivocate all policies short of giving out free drugs and free money and turning a blind eye to dealers), you manifestly end up nurturing a base of hard-core, long-term addicts. Also, fentanyl is cheaper and some users have even begun preferring fentanyl for its unique effect. Here in San Francisco fentanyl is becoming (or has already become) less an adulterant and more the drug you're knowingly buying. Plenty of people--users and public service workers--do carry naloxone, though. So that's something.

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