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Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy
Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Commentary

Drug checking: a potential solution to the opioid overdose epidemic?

Authors: Geoff Bardwell, Thomas Kerr

Published in: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

North America is experiencing an overdose epidemic driven in part by the proliferation of illicitly-manufactured fentanyl and related analogues. In response, communities are scaling up novel overdose prevention interventions. Included are drug checking technologies.

Main body

Drug checking technologies aim to identify the contents of illicit drugs. These technologies vary considerably in terms of cost, accuracy, and usability, and while efforts are now underway to implement drug checking programs for people who inject drugs, there remains a lack of rigorous evaluation of their impacts.

Conclusion

Given the ongoing overdose crisis and the urgent need for effective responses, research on drug checking should be prioritized. However, while such research should be supported, it should be completed before these technologies are widely implemented.
Literature
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British Columbia Coroners Service. Illicit drug overdose deaths in BC, January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2017. British Columbia: Government of British Columbia; 2018.
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Government of British Columbia Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions: Province expands fentanyl testing and launches drug-checking pilot in Vancouver. British Columbia: Government of British Columbia; 2017.
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Health Canada. New federal initiatives to address the opioid crisis. Ottawa: Government of Canada; 2017.
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Kerr T, Tupper K. Drug checking as a harm reduction intervention: evidence review report. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Centre on Substance Use; 2017.
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Harper L, Powell J, Pijl EM. An overview of forensic drug testing methods and their suitability for harm reduction point-of-care services. Harm Reduction J. 2017;14(1):52.CrossRef
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Kennedy MC, Scheim A, Rachlis B, Mitra S, Bardwell G, Rourke S, Kerr T. Willingness to use drug checking within future supervised injection services among people who inject drugs in a mid-sized Canadian city. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2018; 185: 248-252.
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Krieger MS, Yedinak JL, Buxton JA, Lysyshyn M, Bernstein E, Rich JD, Green TC, Hadland SE, Marshall BDL. High willingness to use rapid fentanyl test strips among young adults who use drugs. Harm Reduction J. 2018;15(1):7.CrossRef
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Sande M, Šabić S. The importance of drug checking outside the context of nightlife in Slovenia. Harm Reduction J. 2018;15(1):2.CrossRef
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Lysyshyn M, Dohoo C, Forsting S, Kerr T, McNeil R. Evaluation of a fentanyl drug checking program for clients of a supervised injection site, Vancouver, Canada. Montréal: Harm Reduction International Conference; 2017.
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Kerr T, Small W, Hyshka E, Maher L, Shannon K. ‘It’s more about the heroin’: injection drug users’ response to an overdose warning campagin in a Canadian setting. Addiction. 2013;108(7):1270–6.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
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John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Forecast: fentanyl overdose reduction checking analysis study. February 6, 2018. Baltimore, MD: Bloomberg American Health Initiative.
Metadata
Title
Drug checking: a potential solution to the opioid overdose epidemic?
Authors
Geoff Bardwell
Thomas Kerr
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1747-597X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-018-0156-3

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