ATLANTA — Health officials and pharmacists are applauding Georgia’s decriminalization of the sale of fentanyl test strips. The strips can detect the presence of the deadly synthetic opioid in street drugs, like heroin, meth and cocaine.
The Little Five Points Pharmacy in northeast Atlanta began selling the strips Friday.
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“This is a step in the right direction. This will save thousands of lives over time.” said pharmacist Ira Katz.
According to test instructions, a drug sample is mixed with water. The test strip is then dipped into the solution. Fifteen minutes later, the results appear on the strip. One line indicates the presence of fentanyl. Two lines indicate there is no fentanyl in the drug sample.
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“It doesn’t tell you how much fentanyl is in the drug, so we hope that people, if there is fentanyl in their product, they don’t use it.” said Katz.
Fentanyl is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine. A few sand-sized granules can be deadly. The illicit chemical is the driving force behind a record number of overdose deaths in Georgia and nationwide.
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Katz said the strips can also be used to test for Fentanyl in counterfeit pills.
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