PORTLAND, Maine — For people who have substance use disorder, harm-reduction strategies are critical.
The city of Portland is adding another of those services by offering fentanyl testing strips. That way, people can test their drugs before use.
"Fentanyl itself is a synthetic opioid, and it's a very powerful synthetic opioid," Kerri Barton, interim director of Portland Public Health Harm Reduction, said.
Fentanyl is found in many street drugs, and Barton said that's because it's a cheap and strong opioid.
"They would put the strip into the cooker, and within a minute they would get a result," Barton said.
She added that fentanyl is the reason for many of Maine's overdoses.
"A lot of times, people just don't realize fentanyl is cut into the substance that they're taking," she said.
Barton added that people could know better what they are putting in their bodies by using test strips.
"If a person has a positive result, then it allows for them to be prepared. They can have Narcan on hand," Barton said.
These fentanyl test strips are new to Portland, but other Maine cities have been using them, including the Health Equity Alliance in Bangor.
"They're a really, really key part of harm reduction that a lot of people don't talk about," Jill Henderson with Health Equity Alliance said.
For folks who work in the public health sector, giving people the tools to reduce harm is their top priority.
"The fundamental principals of harm reduction is we believe that people who use drugs deserve safety and resources," Henderson added.
Anyone can pick up fentanyl test strips at the needle exchange at Portland Public Health or the Health Equity Alliance in Bangor.