Table 2.
Characteristics of FTS use among SSP clients in southern Wisconsin
| Characteristics of FTS use | n = 274 |
|---|---|
| m (SD) or n (%) | |
| How many times have you tested drugs with a FTS?b | 26.7 (74.4) |
| How many times have you used drugs tested by someone else with a FTS?b | 14.4 (64.9) |
| How often do you test your drugs when using your drug of choice? | |
| Neverc | 12 (4.4) |
| Rarely | 47 (17.2) |
| Some of the time | 115 (42.0) |
| Most of the time | 64 (23.4) |
| Every time | 36 (13.1) |
| Has the test strip ever showed there was fentanyl in your drugs? Yes | 261 (95.3) |
| Has the test strip ever showed there was no fentanyl in your drugs? Yes | 194 (70.8) |
| Has the test strip result been confusing so you could not tell if there was fentanyl? Yes | 79 (28.8) |
| How often do you get a positive result when you use a fentanyl test strip on your drug of choice? | |
| Never | 9 (3.3) |
| Rarely | 44 (16.1) |
| About half the time | 88 (32.1) |
| Most of the time | 97 (35.4) |
| All of the time | 36 (13.1) |
| Do you usually test your drug of choice with a test strip before or after you use? After | 36 (13.1) |
| Which of the following drugs have you tested using a fentanyl test strip?d | |
| Cocaine | 74 (27.0) |
| Crack cocaine | 88 (32.1) |
| Fentanyl | 101 (36.9) |
| Heroin | 254 (92.7) |
| Marijuana | 13 (4.7) |
| Methamphetamine | 52 (19.0) |
| Opioid analgesics | 31 (11.3) |
| Othere | 7 (2.6) |
| Stimulant medications like Adderall | 3 (1.1) |
| Have you tried using a fentanyl test strip to look for a fentanyl analog in your drugs? Yes | 168 (61.3) |
FTS fentanyl test strip, SSP syringe service program, m mean, SD standard deviation
aThe sample includes respondents who reported using drugs tested by themselves or by others with FTS
bThree respondents who used drugs tested with FTS skipped these questions
cThe twelve individuals (4.4%) who reported never using FTS to test their drug of choice were mostly comprised of individuals who had only used drugs tested by someone else (n = 10), one individual who used FTS on drugs other than their drug of choice, and one individual who likely answered this question incorrectly (given that they reported testing their drug of choice in a different question)
dRespondents were able to select multiple drugs. All respondents who used drugs tested with FTS checked at least one option
eOther drugs were pressed Xanax (n = 2), MDMA (n = 2), pressed pills such as Xanax and Percocet (n = 1), urine (n = 1), and “speedball,” heroin mixed with cocaine (n = 1)