The United State’s war on drugs has become even more difficult to overcome in recent years. Our school systems have begun experiencing an increase in fentanyl-laced marijuana overdoses. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid over 100 times stronger than morphine, has ravaged school districts and families. This deadly drug has increased in popularity and availability among high-school students. The threat of drug addiction and death looms over our nation’s teen population. We must ask ourselves what we can do to save these young, misguided individuals.

Some have proposed that one solution is to require school districts to provide fentanyl drug test strips to students. Keep reading to learn more about the prevalence of fentanyl in our nation’s school systems. Find out how requiring tests in school could help offset the number of yearly overdoses. 

Fentanyl Overdose: A Pandemic of Our Youth

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the US has seen a dramatic increase in the number of teens experimenting with fentanyl-laced marijuana. Many of the individuals involved die from overdosing on the substance. The most unfortunate part of this new pandemic is that most teens never even suspect that the marijuana they purchased contained any dangerous additives. The suppliers and dealers take advantage of the teens’ naivety, and so the cycle continues. 

In order to reduce the number of yearly overdoses, our nation’s politicians, healthcare providers, and school administrators have considered supplying drug tests. They hope to detect traces of fentanyl and deter deaths. 

Fentanyl Test Strips and The American Public School System

The most viable form of testing for fentanyl contaminants is fentanyl test strips. When most people think of drug testing, urine, blood, and hair follicle tests come to mind. However, in the case of these test strips, the users themselves are not tested for the presence of drugs in their systems. Rather they use the test strip to ascertain whether their marijuana or other substance contains traces of fentanyl. 

Some have argued that supplying teenagers with drug purity testing strips may actually encourage them to use products such as marijuana. Experts argue that, while this may be true in some cases, test strips will nonetheless decrease the number of fentanyl-related deaths. This is because it will make users aware of the harmful additives that are present in their marijuana. 

It’s important to realize that, in some areas of the country, teens are overdosing at an incredibly alarming rate from accidental exposure to fentanyl-laced marijuana products. Historically, marijuana experimentation has been prevalent in teen culture. Therefore, efforts should be made to provide teens with the tools to determine whether the drugs they purchased are pure or contain deadly additives. 

Most teenagers are going to experiment with drugs regardless of the deterrents set in place by their families and schools. So fentanyl test strips are a way to ensure that those teens do not pay the ultimate price for their mistakes.

Protect Your Children With Soteria Drug Screening  

The war on drugs in the United States has accelerated substantially. This is due to the increased availability of fentanyl-laced marijuana products to teenagers. In most cases, teens are in fact more likely to experiment with drugs that they are unfamiliar with. For this reason, ensuring that teens have access to fentanyl testing strips in their schools is crucial. It can help tremendously in decreasing the number of deaths caused by overdosing. 

Soteria Drug Screening seeks to make our nation’s school systems a safer and more drug-free place for teenagers. Thus, we supply fentanyl testing strips, as well as a range of other substance abuse testing services. 

To learn more about our services, please reach out to us!