‘We’re done with dead kids’: U.S. bars hand out free fentanyl tests
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[April 20, 2022]
By Nathan Frandino
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Walking into
the Good Hop craft beer bar in Oakland, California, Alison Heller looks
like any other patron thirsting for happy hour.
But instead of heading to the bar, she goes straight to the bathroom,
opens her backpack and pulls out a plastic bag with fentanyl test
strips. She puts 25 strips in a jar for anyone to take for free.
"If you're going to use drugs here, you can test them," said Heller, a
co-founder of the harm-reduction nonprofit FentCheck.
Strips to test drugs for the presence of the deadly synthetic opioid are
becoming more commonplace in bars, restaurants and venues as the country
grapples with the opioid epidemic and soaring death toll.
Fentanyl has flooded U.S. streets and contributed to nearly 500,000 U.S.
opioid overdose deaths over two decades, with the COVID-19 pandemic
worsening the situation. Fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than
morphine, produces effects similar to other opioids, like sedation,
drowsiness and nausea. Overdosing can cause respiratory failure leading
to death.
Fentanyl overdoses are now the top cause of death among U.S. residents
ages 18-45, surpassing suicide, car accidents and COVID, according to an
analysis of federal data by opioid awareness organization Families
Against Fentanyl.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Apr/20/images/ads/current/lincolnag_daily_sda_SFARM_2022.png)
To prevent such deaths, Heller, FentCheck co-founder Dean Shold and a
team of volunteers regularly visit a network of businesses in Oakland,
San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia to replenish stocks of the test
strips.
"We're done with dead kids. We're done with accidental overdoses. We are
also serving people who are struggling with drug addiction," Heller
said. "They cannot make it to rehab, they cannot make it to the next
step in their sobriety if they die that night."
FentCheck staples the strips from Canadian company BTNX to simple
instructions for users to test their drugs. The results show up – like a
pregnancy or COVID-19 test – with lines indicating positive or negative.
"They are cheap, they are super easy to use and read and they give you a
yes or a no that you can then use," said Dr. Kathleen Clanon, medical
director of Alameda County, which supports the distribution of fentanyl
test strips and funds.
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![](../images/042022pics/health3.jpg)
Fentanyl test strips in a container and Narcan are seen at The
Legionnaire bar in Oakland, California, U.S., March 3, 2022.
REUTERS/Nathan Frandino
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Apr/20/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_MOTHERSDAY_2022.png) "They are very sensitive, meaning
that the comparison tests have shown that they are likely to show
fentanyl if it's there and I'm comfortable with that as a community
test."
Melissa Myers, owner of the Good Hop, called it a "no brainer" to
offer the strips to her customers and train her staff to use
naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses the effect of opioid
overdoses.
"We fought to stay alive through COVID and I want
them to be able to keep coming here, not die on the street or die at
home because they've decided to try some new drugs," said Myers.
Some cities have gone even further in the fight against drug
overdoses. One of the nation's first supervised drug-injection sites
opened last year in New York City, allowing users to inject drugs
under the supervision of trained staff.
Critics say the strips enable drug users. Some states treat them as
illegal drug paraphernalia. Legislation to decriminalize the strips
is underway in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee, among others.
Dr. Joey Hensley, a state senator and physician who runs a private
practice in Tennessee, voted against the bill there.
"I just don't think it's a good policy to make it easier for people
addicted to drugs to use drugs," he said.
Hensley doubts that providing fentanyl test strips would affect drug
users' behavior. "If there are studies that show differently, maybe
I would change but I just didn’t think that was a good policy," he
said.
Jason Lujick, owner of The Legionnaire, where test strips sit out on
the bar, said lawmakers need to face the facts.
"If you actually care about your constituents and if you actually
look at the data that your health departments are throwing out there
and you actually care one iota, grow up," he said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Apr/20/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_SFARM_2022.png)
(Reporting by Nathan Frandino; Writing by Richard Chang; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
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