Breaking a record is typically a time for celebration. However, in November 2021, we broke a record that no one wanted to celebrate: America hit the 100,000 mark for overdose deaths. Fentanyl was the main culprit of those deaths, making up close to 67%.
Sadly, the fentanyl crisis shows no signs of abating in Mississippi. It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the supply coming into the state. We are in a battle to prevent deaths from fentanyl, and we are losing.
Fentanyl is colorless, tasteless, odorless and so powerful in such a small amount that it’s enough to kill thousands, and it’s easily transported into our state. Fentanyl is also coming in through the mail via the dark web. Efforts to stop the supply from coming into Mississippi have been futile. Therefore, the only way to reduce fentanyl death is to stop the demand through education and harm reduction.
Education ultimately ends this battle. We have to teach our youth early about the dangers of substance use. But education takes time, and the body count will continue to rise. The only immediate way we prevent deaths and more heartbreaking death records is through harm reduction.
Fentanyl Test Strips Can Save Lives
Fentanyl test strips are an inexpensive, easy-to-use method to prevent deaths. Not only do these strips save lives, but they also put drug dealers out of business. Once a user determines their product has been laced, they do not return to that same dealer, and they let all of those in their circle know not to buy from them, either. Therefore, fentanyl test strips can actually reduce the supply of fentanyl in addition to saving lives.
These strips cost less than a dollar, are easy to use, and are extremely effective at detecting the presence of fentanyl. States can even receive federal funding for these strips, so it costs them nothing. Until recently, these funds could not be accessed in Mississippi because the strips were considered drug paraphernalia. That’s right. Fentanyl strips were against the law and resided in the same category as bongs and pipes. After