Louisville groups ready to distribute fentanyl test strips after Kentucky legislature legalizes them

Oct 11, 2023

A majority of overdose deaths in Kentucky involve fentanyl, and data shows most people don't even know they're taking it.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A majority of overdose deaths in Kentucky involve fentanyl, and data shows most people don't even know they're taking it.

Some local groups, like Young People in Recovery, have already been using fentanyl testing strips. And now that they're officially legal in the state, the hope is more people will learn how to use them and more lives can be saved.

Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper used to detect fentanyl in different types of drugs including pills, powders and injectables. A small amount of the drug is dissolved in water and the test strip is dipped in, providing results in five minutes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the strips can detect the presence of fentanyl in cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and various pills, powders and injectables. The CDC calls the strips a "low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses and reducing harm."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's laboratory found 60% of fake prescription pills it analyzed in 2022 were laced with potentially lethal amounts of fentanyl. Billy O'Bryan, Kentucky program manager for Young People in Recovery, said the chemicals that make up fentanyl are cheap, making it an all-too-common component of other drugs.

"Chances are if you're using some sort of drug today — whether it's heroin or whether it's Xanax or any other number of pills that you can buy — it's probably fentanyl," O'Bryan said. "It's really easy to make, and the drug traffickers make a lot of money doing it this way."

Stephanie Coy, a peer supervisor at the Louisville Recovery Community Connection, who's five years into her own recovery, said she knows several people who've died from fentanyl in the last few years. But, in each case, she said her friends didn't know they were taking it.

"One was celebrating a law school graduation, and one was just out for a night," Coy said. "I think, had they been able to test that, they wouldn't have done it, and they would be alive."

Because fentanyl is so strong, a very small amount can be fatal. Fentanyl is not only found in injectable drugs, but illegal fake prescription pills laced with the deadly drug. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that 6 out of the 10 fake pills they seize have fentanyl.

Young People in Recovery, where Coy also works, is a nonprofit aimed at making people's dream of recovery happen.

"Test strips are just a resource to be able to save somebody's life, and by saving that life maybe we can get them into recovery some day," O'Bryan said. "I think that abstinence is very important, but some people just aren't ready."

Up until a new law passed in Frankfort this year, Kentucky classified Fentanyl testing strips as drug paraphernalia, making it difficult for groups like YPR to supply them across the state.

"When I tried to ship some to a certain county, they said, 'Don't even bother. They're not welcome here. We don't believe in them,'" O'Bryan said.

Now that the testing strips are legal, Coy is hopeful some of that stigma will subside.

"You can't help people build a life and recover from their substance use if they're dead," she said. "The strips prevent death."

The CDC has a website on information on fentanyl test strip, how they work and how to use them. To obtain free fentanyl test strips in Louisville, people can visit any of the health department's harm reduction locations or can email [email protected] for more information.

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