Image Credit: Interior Health

By James Peters

Drug Testing

Interior Health rolls out take-home strips to test opioids for fentanyl content

Feb 10, 2020 | 10:56 AM

KAMLOOPS — Interior Health (IH) says its latest tool for keeping drug users safe offers an answer to the stigma users still face.

The health authority now offers test strips for users to take home. It’s an alternative to the process of coming into a supervised consumption site or health centre to have drugs tested for fentanyl content.

Take-home strips are now available at community-based agencies in Kamloops, Merritt, Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Cranbrook and Nelson.

In an IH news release, Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Judy Darcy notes many people overdose and die alone at home thanks to the stigma around drug use and addiction.

“Giving people a simple, convenient way to check if their drugs contain fentanyl may help them avoid an overdose, and reduce the number of lives lost to the unpredictable and toxic drug supply,” Darcy says.

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A research study undertaken by IH, Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control recently found as much as 90 per cent of opioid samples tested by take-home kits contained fentanyl.

The study conducted between April and July, 2019, compared results from 994 take-home fentanyl test strips to opioid checks conducted at community sites.

To learn more, check out this website