“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison.” – United State Drug Enforcement Administraton
NEW ORLEANS — They’re small strips of paper the Louisiana Department of Health hopes will help have a big impact.
“Our call to action is to save a life,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health Quinette Womack.
Working in the Office of Behavioral Health, Womack says fentanyl test trips are part of a statewide campaign focused on fentanyl awareness.
“Education is powerful, and we know that persons are continuing to use, but we need them to know some of the additional threats happening with the use of fentanyl,” said Womack.
Just small amounts of synthetic opioid can be deadly. The test strips are designed to detect the presence of fentanyl in drugs.
“You can’t see it, you can’t taste it, and you can’t smell it,” said Womack.
The strips, along with more than 20,000 naloxone kits, a nasal spray that can help reverse an overdose, are being sent out to agencies like sheriff’s offices across the state. Last year, some private businesses in New Orleans were buying their own test trips for anyone to take.
“Our goal is to increase the number of providers in the state that could serve as a distribution site so that we can get more of those harm reduction products out,” said Womack.
According to the Department of Health, more than 1,000 people died in Louisiana last year because of counterfeit pills or illicit substances laced with fentanyl.
Overdose deaths linked to fentanyl have seen sharp increases in Louisiana since 2019. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, 41.6% of suspected drug-related deaths in the state in 2019 involved fentanyl. That shot up to 64.9% in 2022.
“Our hopes are that folks are educated, they know the dangers of fentanyl, they know the signs of an overdose and we are encouraging folks to carry naloxone and know how to administer it,” said Womack.
Through the state campaign, treatment services are being expanded by working with the Department of Corrections, increasing access to medication, and creating 24-hour access to care.
“One thing we want to do is to meet the person where they are,” said Womack. “If a person is in need of care at twelve o’clock midnight, we want to have someone available.”
Fentanyl test strips were once considered drug paraphernalia under state law, but lawmakers decriminalized them last year.