Don’t Be An Idiot—test Your Drugs

The sun is out. So are your ass cheeks. Robyn is thumping. So is your heart. It’s summer, it’s a bacchanal. So, it’s only natural to invite some… enhancements to the party. Some MDMA here, a bump of coke there, a Perc, a bar. It’s not going to kill you. Probably. To make sure, you should test all your drugs before you use them. 

Do what you want. Just don’t be stupid. Fentanyl has been infiltrating street drugs and pills like Percocet, OxyContin, and Xanax for years. Last year, 78 percent of fatal overdoses in King County were caused by fentanyl and 83 percent of those overdoses included one other drug. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, “there is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl… increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.” 

Small traces of fentanyl can cause overdoses—two milligrams is lethal. If you don’t know what’s in your supply, you could overdose; your cunty summer looks a lot less cunty from inside the morgue.

Don’t eyeball it: Fentanyl looks like other drugs, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County spokesperson Ellis Johnson.

“Fentanyl is found in pressed pills, powder, and rock drugs,” Johnson wrote in an email. “People should test any drugs that weren’t prescribed to them and purchased from a pharmacy for fentanyl.”

Luckily, the public health department is into harm reduction and there are free fentanyl- testing strips available all over the county. You just need to know where to look. And, if you don’t want to look for them, you can have them mailed to you.

Go to Public Health’s website to order test strips directly to your home or business. Public Health will mail individuals five test strips, which have a shelf life of two to three years. Businesses or community organizations can order strips in bulk. Plan ahead—sometimes it takes about two weeks for them to arrive.

The easiest way to get test strips is by using Public Health’s free vending machines. There are five around town. Simply scan a QR code on the machine, take an anonymous survey, and you’ll get a PIN good for two items. The machines contain fentanyl test strips, as well as injectable naloxone and Narcan nasal spray to reverse overdoses. You can use the machine once a week. Find them at:

• Peer Seattle
• Peer Kent
• Maleng Regional Justice Center 
• Compass Center Day Center 
• YouthCare Seattle’s Orion Center 

At Peer Seattle in Capitol Hill, program director Marc Shelffo sees all types of people take test strips. 

“We have parents who come in and grab stuff for their kids who are going to their first rave or going out to college,” Shelffo says. “Police and first responders come in sometimes. Peer Seattle members come in. People from out of town sometimes will come in.”

Summer is their busy season, Shelffo says. Raves, music festivals, and Pride mean more partying and more drugs. If people take out fentanyl test strips, Peer Seattle won’t judge. They’ll encourage people to get some Narcan, too. 

“If you decide you’re going to use, don’t use alone, and test,” Shelffo says. “You’re not going to lose anything by testing, but you lose everything by not.” 

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