News Article

Test strips could help drug users detect deadly fentanyl

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

by Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Hudson man is hopeful an inexpensive test strip might help drug users avoid fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that killed his son and hundreds more in the past few years in Northeast Ohio.

Greg McNeil, the founder of opioid addiction awareness organization Cover2Resources is working with several local agencies to buy test strips that could be used to detect fentanyl when it is mixed with heroin and other drugs. Fentanyl contributed to 399 deaths last year in Cuyahoga County and is the primary reason fatal overdoses have spiked to record levels in Northeast Ohio, officials have said.

The same test that doctors use to test a patient's urine for fentanyl can also be used to test street drugs, and test strips have already been distributed through apilot program in New York City,  McNeil said. Cover2 Resources is hoping to bring the same pilot program to Northeast Ohio.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/06/test_strips_could_help_drug_us.html