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Results from a mobile drug checking pilot program using three technologies in Chicago, IL, USA.

Lydia Karch1, Samuel Tobias2, Clare Schmidt3

  • 1Cook County Department of Public Health, 7556 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|September 18, 2021
PubMed
Summary

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A pilot mobile drug checking program in Chicago successfully used three technologies to detect fentanyl in street drugs. This harm reduction initiative provided crucial insights into the local illicit drug supply and the feasibility of widespread drug checking services.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Forensic Science
  • Substance Use Research

Background:

  • Opioid overdose deaths, largely driven by fentanyl, remain a critical public health crisis in the United States.
  • Fentanyl adulteration of the illicit drug supply is a primary driver of overdose fatalities.
  • Legal barriers in the U.S. have historically limited widespread drug checking services, unlike in Europe and Canada.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the feasibility of a mobile drug checking program in Chicago, USA.
  • To evaluate the utility of multiple drug checking technologies in identifying fentanyl in illicit substances.
  • To provide data on the local drug market composition and fentanyl prevalence.

Main Methods:

  • A pilot mobile program offered drug checking services in Chicago, IL, from March 2019 to August 2020.
Keywords:
Drug checkingFentanylHarm reductionOpioidOverdosePublic health

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  • Three distinct technologies were employed: Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, handheld High-Pressure Mass Spectrometry (HPMS), and Fentanyl Test Strips (FTS).
  • Services were provided at mobile outreach locations and a fixed drop-in site to participants of a harm reduction program.

    • Main Results:

    • A total of 422 samples were analyzed during the study period.
    • Among samples sold as heroin/dope, fentanyl was detected by FTIR in 12.8%, by HPMS in 47.5%, and by FTS in 57.8%.
    • Significant discrepancies were observed in fentanyl detection rates across the different technologies.

    Conclusions:

    • The pilot program confirmed the feasibility of using a combination of FTIR, HPMS, and FTS for fentanyl detection in user-submitted drug samples.
    • The study highlighted technological discordance in identifying fentanyl, emphasizing the need for multi-method approaches.
    • Findings offer valuable intelligence on the local drug market and the prevalence of fentanyl in Chicago's illicit drug supply.