Fentanyl test strips now available at some local bars in effort to curb overdose deaths

Fentanyl overdoses are the top killer in young adults, surpassing car accidents, suicide and COVID, according to an analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 27, 2022, 12:21 AM

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Updated 950 days ago

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Fentanyl test strips now available at some local bars in an effort to curb overdose deaths.

Fentanyl overdoses are the top killer in young adults, surpassing car accidents, suicide and COVID, according to an analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl.

That's why fentanyl test strips are taking off as another harm-reduction tool in the Hudson Valley. The strips detect the high potent opioid that has become so pervasive in the illicit drug market.

While critics say the strips enable drug users, state lawmakers and local organizations like the Prevention Council of Putna say it's more important to keep people alive.

"There are some people that are just not ready for treatment yet, nor may they ever be, and we have a responsibility to try to keep them alive," says Sen. Pete Harckham.

Lauren Johnson, of the Prevention Council of Putnam, says they have a distribution plan where they have identified where the hot spots are when it comes to opioid overdoses.

"We'll get fentanyl test strips behind the bars, with the naloxone so that we really just have all the tools necessary to help combat any opioid overdose," says Johnson.

Efforts are now underway to bring those fentanyl test strips to Putnam County businesses with liquor licenses.

RESOURCES:

The Prevention Council of Putnam
Office of Addiction Services and Supports
National Harm Reduction Coalition
National Institute on Drug Abuse