ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2023
A survey of North American drug checking services operating in 2022.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- Interpol review of forensic drug chemistry, 2022-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- Drug sellers' use of a drug checking service amid the overdose crisis in British Columbia, Canada.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2026Article
- Navigating an unpredictable supply: lived experiences of xylazine exposure among people who use drugs.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Drug Checking Services in Latin America vs. the United States: Staff Perspectives, Program Characteristics, and Barriers to Implementation.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Polydrug overdose mortality caused by synthetic opioids and stimulants: current sex- and age-specific trajectories in United States national data for 2018-2024.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Drug checking services: barriers and facilitators to implementation by U.S. syringe services programs.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Navigating an Unpredictable Supply: Lived Experiences of Xylazine Exposure Among People Who Use Drugs.Research square · 2026Article
- Patient and Provider Perspectives on the Elimination of Urine Drug Testing in Office-Based Addiction Treatment.Substance use & addiction journal · 2026Article
- Psychedelic Drug Checking: Analytical and Strategic Challenges in Harm Reduction for Classic Psychedelics.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- "Because we're the experts": centering the expertise of people who use drugs to identify and propose solutions for overdose prevention.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Point-Of-Care Drug-Checking: Assessing the Rhode Island Drug Supply Using FTIR Spectroscopy to Detect Fentanyl, Xylazine and Other Substances.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- "All it's gonna tell you is if it has fentanyl or not:" Perceptions of fentanyl and drug checking among first responders and people who use drugs.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2025Article
- U.S. substance use harm reduction efforts: a review of the current state of policy, policy barriers, and recommendations.Harm reduction journal · 2025Review
- The emergence of fentanyl in a stimulant landscape: Un/intentional use, social relations, and developing communities of care.The International journal on drug policy · 2025Article
- Implementing community drug checking in smaller urban communities: a qualitative study exploring contextual factors to consider.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Is fentanyl in everything? Examining the unexpected occurrence of illicit opioids in British Columbia's drug supply.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Ameliorative Effects of Ethyl-Acetate Extract ofF1000Research · 2025Article
- An implementation science study of a campus-based drug checking service at a Canadian university.PloS one · 2025Article
- Syringe services program staff and participant perspectives on changing drug consumption behaviors in response to xylazine adulteration.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Protective or potentially harmful? Altering drug consumption behaviors in response to xylazine adulteration.Research square · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDrug overdose deaths have reached record-breaking levels in North America. Drug checking services (DCS) provide localized information on the contents of drugs to individuals and communities. Depending on the design, individuals can submit drug samples for onsite "real-time" testing or offsite testing. The results can shed light on emerging drugs in the community and support ongoing prevention and surveillance efforts. We sought to describe and report aggregate outcomes of DCS operating in North America.
methodsThe North American Drug Checking Survey was launched in 2022 to characterize and monitor DCS operating in the region. Sixteen organizations from the US (n = 9), Canada (n = 5), and Mexico (n = 2) responded to the survey. Each organization reported on their program's operations and provided service delivery outcomes (site- or program-level) in the aggregate.
resultsParticipating organizations reported testing a total of 49,786 drug samples between 2014 and 2022. DCS were run by community-led organizations (44%), health departments (25%), universities (19%), or clinical/private laboratories (19%). The types of samples tested differed between programs (e.g., solids vs. liquids, drug paraphernalia accepted). While most organizations tested onsite using fentanyl test strips (88%) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (63%), many sent samples offsite for confirmatory testing (63%), most often with mass spectrometry. Common facilitators of operating a DCS included: interest of clients (69%), interest of service providers (63%), and receiving external technical assistance (63%). Barriers included: the lack of funding (81%) or staff (50%), gaps in technical expertise (38%), as well as laws banning the possession and/or distribution of illicit drug samples, drug paraphernalia, or drug checking equipment (38%).
conclusionDCS are scaling up in North America. Given the evolving and localized nature of illicit drug supplies, supporting the establishment and operations of DCS could enhance the public's understanding of local drug supplies to reduce drug-related harms over time.
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