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Fentanyl test strips accessibility still an issue in DMV
Naloxone, or Narcan, has gotten a lot of attention as opioid overdoses continue to make headlines. But while Narcan can prevent death after a drug is taken, test strips can stop an overdose before the drug is even ingested. FOX 5's Katie Barlow reports from Alexandria.
WASHINGTON - Fentanyl test strips are an inexpensive way to prevent overdoses and reduce harm, but some in the community say they need to be more accessible in the DMV area.
Naloxone, or Narcan, has gotten a lot of attention as opioid overdoses continue to make headlines. But while Narcan can prevent death after a drug is taken, test strips can stop an overdose before the drug is even ingested.
"I think it was maybe in February, a high school teen in Arlington." said Robert Houton, founder of TEAM Vaccinate. "He passed away. I think he was 14 or 15 years old and literally the next day, that whole week, parents were scrambling to find fentanyl test strips because as any parent knows they'll do anything to safeguard the health of their children."
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Houton tells FOX 5 that Washington, D.C. is a model for the accessibility of test strips, with multiple vending machines offering test strips for free across the city. But he says Virginia and Maryland need to make them more available.
"The accessibility is critically needed because if it's not there, if the fentanyl test strips are not there for whoever is experimenting or under stress or peer pressure at a high school party, then they're not going to be able to use them," said Houton.
Houton works with a group pushing for federal legalization of test strips as conservatives have recently joined bipartisan efforts to legalize them at the state level. Florida Governor Ron Desantis is expected to sign a bill legalizing test strips this week. The Texas state house passed a similar bill last month.
Virginia's Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has made tackling the opioid crisis a priority for his administration. To mark National Fentanyl Awareness Day on Tuesday, he signed a new law giving his office more power to do just that.
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National Fentanyl Awareness Day: Are more test strips needed in the DMV?
Fentanyl test strips are an inexpensive way to prevent overdoses and reduce harm. They're legal here in the DMV, but accessibility is still a problem.
"What I can do as governor is instruct secretaries, agencies, and departments to get to work on specific initiatives," said Youngkin. "The issue with this Narcan and Naloxone is we've got to get it in everybody's hands because it works. We have to teach people to use it and get it in their hands so that everybody can take the REVIVE training."
The Virginia Department of Health estimates there were over 2,500 overdose deaths in 2022, a slight decrease from the number of deaths in 2021. In the state of Virginia, fentanyl test strips are available at health departments – but Houton says they should be available over the counter at local pharmacies, so anyone can walk in and grab one.