A test strip that can detect the presence of a dangerous animal tranquilizer in street drugs may soon be more widely available in Vermont.
The Vermont Department of Health says it's purchasing test strips to identify xylazine, which is sometimes added to drugs like fentanyl.
Xylazine was involved in 31 of the 95 opioid overdose deaths so far in 2023 recorded by the state.
Kelly Dougherty is the Health Department's Deputy Commissioner for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, and says xylazine is especially dangerous when mixed with opioids.
"Because it's not an opioid, it doesn't respond to Narcan — or Naloxone — the opioid reversal drug, so it can be harder to revive someone if they are using a drug that has xylazine in it," she said.
The Howard Center in Burlington, which offers help to people experiencing drug addiction, has been using a limited supply of xylazine test strips for about three months.
That's according to Dan Hall, who is the director of outpatient services for the Howard Center, and who says test strips can help.
"We don't have a ton of statistical data yet, but anecdotally the demand for them has kind of ebbed and flowed, and right now I would say we are in a high demand for them," Hall said. "So we're giving them out regularly, and what we hear back from clients is, clients are using them, and they're working for clients."
The Health Department expects to have the strips ready for distribution before the end of September, and the plan is to send them to state harm reduction agencies, as they did with fentanyl test strips.
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