FTS are a harm reduction strategy designed to reduce the negative consequences of drug use, including the risk of fatal and nonfatal overdose. Anyone can purchase and use FTS to test for the presence of fentanyl in a drug. This Fentanyl Test Strips to Prevent Overdose fact sheet contains additional information about FTS.
FTS cost approximately $1.00 each and can be purchased from several vendors,including:
• BTNX
• Dance Safe
• North America Syringe Exchange Network (NASEN) Buyers Club
Free or low-cost FTS are available to individuals at California’s syringe services programs (SSPs) through the California Harm Reduction Supplies Clearinghouse.
Substance and Addiction Prevention Branch
Organizations can partner with harm reduction agencies such as SSPs and organizations that offer supplies, education, and resources; and in-person, contactless services, including health clinics. Organizations can also partner with agencies that have multiple locations that serve different populations to increase the equitable distribution of FTS.
A minimum of two FTS should be provided in each kit to persons who use drugs. If the first test comes up negative, it is recommended to test the drugs a second time (the same mixture/sample). Additional test strips may be also provided.
Get naloxone (Narcan), the overdose reversal drug, and Fentanyl test strips mailed directly to your home in discreet packaging. Next Distro, a national harm reduction organization, offers these supplies to individuals for free.
Philadelphia residents can also request naloxone, fentanyl test strips, xylazine test strips and medetomidine test strips directly from SUPHR.
SUPHR’s Community Engagement team goes into neighborhoods across Philly to give out harm reduction supplies and connect community members with services. Their regular tabling events can be found on our Events page.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has locations across the city where residents can pick up naloxone, test strips and other harm reduction resources for free. Resource hubs also offer other health supplies and testing.
SUPHR offers monthly virtual training sessions, during which participants learn to recognize the signs of an overdose and reverse it using naloxone. After the training, participants can be mailed naloxone and test strips. Sign up for the next training at the link here or email kylelin45s@proton.me.
Learn how to identify and reverse overdoses, and how to test substances with test strips. English and Spanish-language videos are included.
Beginning on August 28th, 2025, you can get naloxone (Narcan), the overdose reversal drug, from a Philadelphia fire station near you. With financial support from Vital Strategies, the Philadelphia Fire Department and Overdose Response Unit in the Office of Public Safety have partnered together for Naloxone in Black – Naloxone in Black is the City of Philadelphia’s targeted initiative under Vital Strategies’ You Have the Power to Save Lives campaign. This initiative will address the disproportionate impact of the overdose crisis on Black Philadelphians by increasing access to low-barrier naloxone through the installation of newspaper-style boxes stocked with free naloxone outside 61 fire stations across the city. This campaign aims to reduce preventable overdose deaths and promote equitable access to this life-saving medication.
Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper, similar to what’s in a pregnancy test. They can check for fentanyl in different kinds of drugs and pills. This is done by:
Mixing a small amount of the drug or pill with water (pills should be crushed first).
Dipping one end of the test strip into it.
If fentanyl is present, a clear line will appear on the test strip within a couple of minutes.
However, the test strips may not always work:
Even if a drug contains fentanyl, the small sample you are testing may not have fentanyl in it. So, even if the test strip says there is no fentanyl, it’s possible that the drug may still contain fentanyl.
The test strips may not be able to detect other similar drugs that could have been mixed in. Some of these fentanyl-like drugs, like carfentanil, are even stronger and more likely to cause an overdose.
Fentanyl test strips are legal to carry in most states. They may be available through state and local health departments, syringe services programs, or drug stores and online retailers.