Federal funds can't be used to give test strips to drug users, raising overdose fears
A new federal policy from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration prohibits the use of federal grants for distributing drug test strips to the public. Harm reduction advocates warn that this restriction could lead to an increase in overdose deaths as the street drug supply becomes increasingly unpredictable.
Why it matters
The policy shift creates a conflict between federal funding regulations and local harm reduction strategies aimed at preventing accidental overdoses.
Last year, Baltimore had three mass overdose incidents in the span of three months in its Penn North neighborhood.
In one incident, more than two dozen people were hospitalized after many were found unresponsive , lying in the streets or on sidewalks. No one died, but some came close.
This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News .
Follow-up testing found that the street drugs contained high levels of N-methylclonazepam, a benzodiazepine that operates similarly to Xanax or Valium.
Like opioids, benzodiazepines suppress breathing. When they're combined, the risk of overdose goes up. And benzodiazepines don't respond to opioid overdose reversal drugs.
Afterward, the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition created test strips specifically for benzodiazepines. The group distributed them — along with test strips that identify other harmful adulterants, such as fentanyl, xylazine , and medetomidine — at clinics and neighborhood events.
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