This is the final part in a series focusing on opioid addiction and recovery in Cass County.
Fentanyl was the common cause of the majority of Cass County drug deaths over the past year. People who buy illicit drugs do not usually know how much fentanyl is laced into the drugs they are taking. However, Cass County Health Department Administrator Serenity Alter said that does not have to be the case.
“Fentanyl test strips are harm reduction,” she said. “They’re just strips of paper that you can use to test the current drugs you have to see if there’s any fentanyl in them. It’s our way of trying to lower the overdose rates. Anybody can get them here.”
People can obtain fentanyl test strips for free at the Cass County Health Department, no questions asked. The health department also distributes free Narcan, an opioid reversal drug that works on fentanyl, and ensures that county fire departments, police departments, and schools all have Narcan and know how to use it.
According to Nikki Malott, Partners for a Drug Free Cass County project coordinator, there are also two “Naloxboxes” that distribute Narcan at Emmaus Mission Center and Emmaus Food Pantry in Logansport.
Alter and Debbie Grimes, Cass County Health Department’s health educator, encouraged anyone using illicit drugs to have both Narcan and fentanyl test strips readily available.
“(The strips) can detect the presence of fentanyl in all different kinds of drugs,” Alter said. “They can test cocaine, methamphetamine, or heroin in any drug form.”
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people using fentanyl test strips should put at least 10 milligrams of the drug into a clean container and add between half a teaspoon and one full teaspoon of water. Once the drug has dissolved, they can place a test strip inside the water for about 15 seconds, then wait between two and five minutes for results.
One pink line on the lefthand side of the test strip indicates that there is fentanyl in the sample. Two pink lines on the lefthand side indicate that there was no fentanyl present in the sample. However, the CDC warns that there could still be fentanyl analogs like carfentanil, which is about 100 times more potent than fentanyl, in tested drugs.
The CDC also urged caution because of the “chocolate chip cookie effect,” which describes how fentanyl can be more concentrated in certain parts of a pill the same way chocolate chips are distributed unevenly throughout chocolate chip cookies.
The Cass County Health Department and the CDC do not recommend taking drugs that test positive for fentanyl. Alter said the test strips are one way that Cass County residents who use drugs can stay safe and prevent an overdose.
According to the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, a 2018 study ‘Fentanyl Overdose Reduction Checking Analysis Study,’ found that, out of 335 people interviewed in Boston, Baltimore, and Providence, R.I., about 85% wanted to know whether their drugs contained fentanyl. The same study showed that 89% of the respondents indicated drug testing would make them feel better protected against an overdose, and 70% of the respondents said they would “modify their behavior” if fentanyl was found in their drugs.
While fentanyl testing is a useful tool for those worried about fentanyl contamination, The Father’s House Co-Director John Centers said he is not sure everyone will be interested in testing their drugs because heavy drug users are not afraid of fentanyl and may actually seek it out. Jake Williams, who is mentored by Centers, agreed.
“The only way I tested my drugs was by taking them,” he said. “In my opinion, instead of trying to give people the tools in the field, I should say, to try to test their drugs or giving them Narcan, we need to focus on the treatment side of things.”
However, barriers to treatment due to lack of insurance, lack of childcare, a criminal history, long wait times, or a myriad of other factors can make seeking recovery incredibly difficult for some people. The closest detoxification center to Logansport is Turning Point Systems of Care in Kokomo, and Centers said the need to travel to a different city can easily dissuade someone from entering an inpatient facility.
Centers and Williams said 4C Health in Logansport has helpful therapists, but demand at 4C Health is high and can result in longer waits in between appointments. Some other Cass County residents also utilize Bowen Recovery Center in Fort Wayne for detoxification, treatment, and outpatient services.
Centers is looking forward to the expansion of The Father’s House and the creation of additional sober living houses in the community. He and Williams said sober living houses are incredibly beneficial to people in recovery because of the community and support, and they are confident that Logansport’s recovery resources will continue to grow.
Grimes added that parental support is also necessary to combat drug deaths in Cass County. She referred to a report from the CDC and US Department of Health and Human Services that shows that, despite a decline in adolescent drug use over recent years, the median monthly drug overdose deaths in adolescents increased 109% across the country between July through December of 2019 to the same period in 2021.
While there is no easy answer to reducing the number of overdose deaths in Logansport and Cass County, there are many places within the community people can turn to for help including the health department, 4C Health, The Father’s House, and people like Centers who have been through recovery and devote their lives to helping others.
“I want it to be different for people,” said Christine Centers, one of the co-founders of The Father’s House and Centers’ aunt. “We have personal relationships with the guys that are in the house, and they’re our hope.”
