Rapid Response to the Legalization of Fentanyl Test Strips in Alabama: An Academic–Community Partnership.

SUBSTANCE abuse risk factors; HIV prevention; DRUG overdose; SUBSTANCE abuse; AIDS education; DIAGNOSTIC reagents & test kits; EVALUATION of human services programs; HARM reduction; PUBLIC relations; OPIOID analgesics; PUBLIC health; MINORITIES; FENTANYL; UNITED States. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

In June 2022, Alabama legalized fentanyl test strips (FTS). In response to this new opportunity to prevent overdoses, Project Linkage, Education, and Prevention (LEAP)—an academic–community partnership providing substance use prevention services—quickly purchased FTS and started distributing them in the Birmingham area. We describe how the Addiction Prevention Coalition, a substance use education and harm reduction provider, distributed 7300 FTS in the first year of legalization via Project LEAP and discuss its efforts to decrease substance use among young people. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(8):785–788. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307681) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]