Home / Alcohol & Other Drugs / Naloxone and Fentanyl Testing Strips Distribution Program

Naloxone & Fentanyl Testing Strips Distribution

On This Page

 How does SHOP provide Harm Reduction services with this program?

SHOP's Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Program focuses on strategies and programs to help students reduce their risk of harms associated with substance use. Our Party Like a Slug Peer Education Program is based on the philosophy that you can “party” and have a fun social life in college without putting yourself or others in danger. 

One of the major causes of opioid overdose on college campuses nationwide is the unintentional ingestion of opiates. In recent years popular recreational drugs like cocaine, Xanax and Adderall have become risks for opioid overdose, as lethal traces of the synthetic opioid fentanyl have been found in the US drug supply. Our Harm Reduction strategies are intended to address the risks of potential fentanyl contamination. 

As part of our harm reduction plan at UCSC Student Health Services, SHOP and the Cove have partnered to provide Naloxone and Fentanyl Testing Strips (FTS) to our students. Our aim is to keep students safe and reduce the risk of overdose death. Naloxone and Fentanyl Test Strips are available confidentially and at no cost.

  • Naloxone (brand name Narcan) is a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses. 
  • Fentanyl Testing Strips are a tool to identify the presence of Fentanyl in unregulated drugs.

How do I obtain naloxone and testing strips?

  • UCSC students can watch this training video and complete a short quiz. You can then stop by SHOP to get free Narcan and FTS with instructions (a limit of 2 per person), at various times and campus locations as described below. There is also an option to stop by for an info-session.

  • After watching the video titled How to Use Narcan with the DOPE Project, take this quiz to check your narcan knowledge ». Upon quiz completion, you’ll receive a confirmation message which you can show to pick up a naloxone kit at the following times & locations below. 

Campus Distribution Sites (Spring Quarter)

Drop-in after you have viewed the video and short quiz. Please have your proof of completion screenshot ready. 
→ Quick pick up hours at SHOP: M-F 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at SHOP (closed for lunch 12-1 pm) Student Health Outreach and Promotion @ Student Health Center (next to the Pharmacy.)
→ Quick pick up hours at the Cove: M-F 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Free naloxone is available at SHOP @ the Student Health Center and the Cove, our Collegiate Recovery Program, through the CDPH Naloxone Distribution Project.

Prefer a confidential in-person session with a peer educator?party-safe-team SHOP has drop-in info sessions at the Student Health Center with the Party Safe Team.

Info Session Hours: Mondays from 2 – 5 p.m. at Redwood Free Market and Thursdays from 1 – 3 p.m. at SHOP. Drop-in for a 15 minute session to learn how to use Narcan & Fentanyl Test Strips and get your questions answered. Kits can include both Narcan and two Fentanyl Test Strips. We give one kit per person and cannot give out large quantities to individuals. 

How to test drugs for Fentanyl to prevent overdose

Fentanyl test strips (‘FTS’) are a form of inexpensive drug testing technology that was originally developed fords_fentanyl-strip-instructions.png
urinalysis, but which have been shown to be effective at detecting the presence of fentanyl and fentanyl-analogs in drug samples prior to ingestion. In order to use the strips, testers dissolve a small amount of substance in water, and then dip the test strip into the liquid for 15 seconds. Because the test strips are highly sensitive, a minimal amount of drug residue is sufficient to obtain a result. The test strip is then set on a flat surface until results appear, typically within 5 minutes. One line indicates fentanyl is present in the sample; two lines indicate a negative result. 

Additional Resources