Robert Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, estimates that more than half of those overdose cases involve fentanyl mixed with another drug.Ī flyer encouraging clubbers to carry Narcan. The drug is now the number one cause of death among adults aged 18-45 according to CDC data analyzed by Families Against Fentanyl, and was involved in 60% of the 100,000 overdoses that occurred in the past year, a record high that eclipses gun fatalities and car crashes combined. No one can say exactly why it has become so common, but a variety of factors, including pandemic supply chain shortages, accidental cross-contamination, and increasing potency have been suggested. The deadly synthetic opioid has been flooding the street market as dealers bulk out recreational drugs like cocaine and heroin with fentanyl. Fentanyl testing strips as well as the opioid-reversal drug naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) are becoming the sine qua non of the party scene, distributed everywhere cultural denizens hang out: nightclubs, art galleries, downtown streetwear stores, even housewarming parties in Brooklyn.įentanyl, a prescription pain medication developed for cancer patients, has turned into an indiscriminate spectre in the club scene. Marie is one of the many harm reduction workers helping distribute testing strips in leisure spaces. In the end, the man throws his bag into the trash: better safe than dead. So Marie tests the drug dealer’s drugs too. “I tested my drugs at home,” she says, “and it was negative on every supply”.
The man runs back into the party and confronts his drug dealer. Scooping out some powder from the bag, she dilutes the sample in water, and dips a test strip inside. Inside: testing strips that can detect whether substances like cocaine and ketamine contain fentanyl, a deadly opioid that’s increasingly infiltrating the street drug supply. Marie rips open one of the green packets.