Jordan Meek, Special to The Denisonian—

In addition to the many new things that the Ann & Thomas Hoaglin Wellness Center has offered since its opening, the center is now taking a big step toward prevention over intervention.

On Monday, April 3, 2023, legislation that now makes fentanyl testing strips legal in the state of Ohio went into effect. In January of this year, House Bill 456 was passed to decriminalize these testing strips that until now have been considered drug paraphernalia.

This is one of the many pieces of legislation relating to drug use that has been considered criminal since the “War on Drugs” that began in the 1970s.

According to the Center for Disease Control, Ohio has one of the highest drug overdose death rates in the country. Fentanyl was involved in more than 80 percent of those deaths.

“To me, the fact that a harm reduction tool, like testing strips, has been considered drug paraphernalia makes absolutely no sense,” said Dr. Susan Kennedy, a psychology professor at Denison with a specialty in drug pharmacology. 

The test strips the Wellness Center is providing are for non-prescription pills and powders. These are used to test the drug before use and compared to a urine test that is used after the drug is already in their body

In preparation for this, the wellness center handed out 100 test strips they received before spring break through tabling.

“We just wanted them to be in the pockets of students who may or may not be in the vicinity of others who may be using these non-prescription pills or powders,” explained Jack Wheeler, Associate Director of Student Wellness at Hoaglin and licensed clinical social worker. “Those 100 strips were distributed very quickly. Students were very receptive to getting them. We were worried about the stigma around being willing to accept fentanyl test strips because it is a harm reduction model.”

“These test strips are becoming increasingly important with Ohio’s history with fentanyl and the opioid crisis,” said Global Health major, Amanda Fields ‘25, who also works with RedCorp on wellness center projects. “You never know what’s in these things when you take them so the best way is to test them. It’s just safer.”

With the response and willingness from students to have these testing strips, the next steps are to get them into spaces where they might be needed. This includes party spaces and studying spots.

“You need it when you need it, and you’re not ging to want to walk to the Wellness Center to get it, so it’s important to get it into those spaces,” said Wheeler.

The Wellness Center has been working with Campus Safety to set up a system of providing testing strips. As of now, when social events managers meet with Campus Safety before the event, they will be given a set of test strips to have on hand if they are needed.

The goal is to get them into study spaces as well. There will be a different approach to getting the testing strips into places like the library and academic buildings that the Wellness Center staff is still working through.

Fentanyl test strips, according to Wheeler, are a way for the institution to partner with students to make good choices rather than dictate those choices. The wellness center is working with a two-pronged approach–education and distribution.

“I wish we could have had access to them before spring break, but now it’s good that we’ll have them before finals,” said Kennedy. “[My hope] is that students use them and think before taking anything.”

The focus of these testing strips has primarily been on illegal substances such as heroin; however, typical ADHD medication like Adderall also can be laced with fentanyl. In October of 2022, the FDA declared a shortage of Adderall because some of the companies that make the medication have been having manufacturing delays, and that shortage is not letting up. This is causing people to get the medication in other ways that are not as safe and have a higher chance of being laced. These testing strips will allow those who use these medications to test them before use.

“Because someone wants to get through the night and study, alright there’s other ways to do that, but it’s not worth their life ending because of it,” said Wheeler. “The main goal is to create an environment where students feel they don’t need to use chemicals to thrive… but for now, we need to have support and resources for students who are going about it through different routes.”

The same day the legislation went into effect, the Wellness Center put out an official statement on this month’s issue of Hoaglin Highlights about the test strips. This was emailed to all students.

When someone gets a test strip there will also be a card that details how to use the fentanyl testing strip step by step.

The testing strips are currently available in the testing center of Hoaglin next to the COVID-19 tests and pregnancy tests.