Why we provide test strips:
In 2017, nearly 40% of overdose deaths were related to fentanyl. It can be found in any drug these days including opioids, cocaine, MDMA and can even be laced with Xanax and other benzodiazepines.
We provide free fentanyl test strips confidentially to anyone in need. Reality is, with fentanyl so widespread, if you are using any drugs at all please test them. It takes extremely small amounts of fentanyl to cause a fatal overdose. Message our confidential hotline 479-222-0532 to get these, free Naloxone Opioid Overdose Reversal Kits and other harm reduction materials.
FENTANYL TEST STRIPS
The below instructions were taken from DanceSafe, an amazing organization that has been offering Harm Reduction resources since 1998.
READ THIS FIRST! —> This page contains all the instructions for using the strips. Please read everything on this page twice before using the strips. It is important you understand what fentanyl is, why it is so dangerous, and the limitations of the strips. USING THESE STRIPS DOES NOT GUARANTEE SAFETY! No drug use is 100% safe!
What is Fentanyl
Fentanyl and various fentanyl analogs are highly potent synthetic opioids between fifty and many hundreds of times stronger than heroin. They are primarily responsible for the twenty-fold increase in heroin-related fatalities since 2013. Many people have also died after consuming counterfeit pharmaceutical pills containing fentanyl, and more recently, fentanyl-laced cocaine, meth and other drugs have begun killing people.
* Note: The term “fentanyl” refers to fentanyl itself, as well as numerous analogs such as acetyl-fentanyl, furanyl-fentanyl, carfentanil, and others. Some analogs, such as carfentanil, are so strong that a fatal dose may be invisible to the naked eye.
About Fentanyl Testing Strips
WARNING! If used correctly, fentanyl testing strips can usually detect fentanyl and most of its known analogs, including carfentanil. However, they cannot detect all of them. A negative result, therefore, does not guarantee your drugs are free from all fentanyl analogs or other dangerous synthetic opioids.
The Most Important Thing to Know About Fentanyl
When fentanyl (or a fentanyl analog) is mixed with heroin, cocaine or other drugs, it is *never* mixed evenly. Powder from one side of a baggie (or on the edge of a pressed tablet) may contain no fentanyl at all, yet powder from the other side may contain a fatal dose. This is called the “chocolate chip cookie effect” and is why it is important to test every bit of the drug you intend to consume!
Testing heroin and other injected drugs
If you inject heroin or other drugs, you should really test every time you inject. The best method is to test the residue from your spoon or cooker.
- After preparing your shot, set the needle aside and wait to inject.
- Add about 1 milliliter (about 1/4 of a teaspoon) of clean water into the spoon or cooker.
- Hold the blue end of the test strip and insert the other end into the liquid.
- Allow the liquid to travel up the strip into the test area. (This takes less than 30 seconds.)
- Set the strip down on a flat surface and wait about two minutes. See “Interpreting the results” below.
Testing powdered and other drugs
Method #1 – Testing Everything You Intend to Consume
The best method for testing powders, crystals or tablets is to test every bit you intend to consume. This requires dissolving you entire dose in water, which means you will need to drink your dose if you decide to take it. For drugs like cocaine or meth that many people like to snort, drinking it will still work. It will take longer to feel the effects, but they will last longer.
- Place all of the drug you intend to consume into a glass or ceramic cup. (Tablets or crystals must first be crushed into a powder.)
- Add water• If you are testing methamphetamine or MDMA, add one teaspoon of water (about 5ml) for each 10mg of crystal or powder you are testing. It is important to get this ratio correct because meth and MDMA give false positives if too concentrated. Specifically, you need to dilute meth down to about 2mg/ml, but not too much more than that. This is about one teaspoon for every 10mg. This method will avoid false positives yet still be able to detect a fatal dose of fentanyl, carfentanil and most other fentanyl analogs.• If you are testing cocaine or any drug other than meth, add two teaspoons of water per 100mg of powder. This is approximately 10mg/ml, an ideal dilution to detect fentanyl and most of its analogs in powdered drugs.
- Stir the contents until it is thoroughly dissolved. (Binder materials in tablets may not completely dissolve.)
- Hold the blue end of the test strip and insert the other end into the liquid.
- Allow the liquid to travel up the strip into the test area. (This takes less than 30 seconds.)
- Set the strip down on a flat surface and wait about two minutes. See “Interpreting the results” below.
Method #2 – Testing the residue inside your baggie.
CAUTION! This is NOT the recommended method for testing. The best method is to test every bit you intend to consume, as described above. However, some people may not be willing to dissolve their entire dose of drugs in water every time they partake. In that case, the next best method is to test the residue stuck to the inside of the baggie the drugs came in. This method may not detect fentanyl due to the chocolate chip cookie effect, but it is better than not testing at all.
- Empty the powder or crystals inside your baggie into another container.• If you are testing cocaine that is pressed into a rock, grind it or crush it up first, then put it back into the baggie before emptying it again. This way if there was fentanyl inside the rock, you increase the chance of some of it sticking to the inside of the baggie
- Put about half a teaspoon (about 2.5ml) of water into the baggie and swish it around to dissolve the residue.• If you are testing methamphetamine or MDMA, you may need to add more water depending on how much residue is stuck to the inside of the baggie. Dilute down to at least 2mg/ml to avoid false positives. So if you think there is more than 4mg of residue in the baggie, you may need to add an entire teaspoon of water (5ml) or even more.
- Hold the blue end of the test strip and insert the other end into the liquid.
- Allow the liquid to travel up the strip into the test area. (This takes less than 30 seconds.)
- Set the strip down on a flat surface and wait about two minutes. See “Interpreting the results” below.
Interpreting the results
One red line on top is a POSITIVE result for the presence of fentanyl or one of its analogs. Two red lines is a NEGATIVE result. No red lines (or one red line on the bottom) means the test is invalid. (Usually this happens because the liquid did not travel far enough up the testing strip.)
