Where to get fentanyl test strips and Narcan in the Mission

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The Mission is one of the top neighborhoods where accidental overdoses occur. While accidental overdoses can happen in the street or in people’s homes, several bartenders and patrons say overdoses sometimes happen in bars or clubs — and that having Narcan nearby reversed a fatal consequence. Here’s where to find, and tips on how to use, potentially life-saving resources like fentanyl test strips and naloxone in the neighborhood.

Read why Mission bars and Bay Area organizations are stocking up on fentanyl test strips and naloxone. And, why some have yet to add what one doctor calls ” the latest and greatest,” in helping to save lives.

Mission bars that have fentanyl test strips and Narcan

Reported on by Griffin Jones and Annika Hom. Map designed by Will Jarrett.

*Some establishments expressed interest in procuring resources in the future, or have yet to respond. Mission Local will update this map if necessary.

Where else to get fentanyl test strips

• Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, at 1735 Mission St. near Erie Street, offers both Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

• Community Behavioral Health Services, at 1380 Howard St. near Natoma Street, offers free fentanyl testing strips and naloxone doses.  

• Reach out to the Department of Public Health if you are a school, business, or other organization that wishes to partner and collect resources like Narcan or test strips. 

If you are a business interested in purchasing fentanyl test strips, the nonprofit FentCheck sells strips and offers to supply strips to interested organizations. You can also donate to the FentCheck.

Where to get Narcan

• Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, at 1735 Mission St. near Erie Street, offers both Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

• The Gubbio Project, at 1661 15th St. near Valencia Street. 

• San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. at 16th St. near Wiese St.
• Mission Neighborhood Health Center at 165 Capp St.
• Walgreens and CVS carry Narcan in most locations. No prescription is required. Get it by asking a pharmacist behind the counter. 

• Community Behavioral Health Services at 1380 Howard St. near Natoma Street offers free fentanyl testing strips and naloxone doses.  

Download a PDF of this here.

How to use fentanyl test strips, via the CDC

• According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
  • Measure out roughly 10 mg — one-sixteenth of a teaspoon —  of your drug. (If it is a powdered drug, use it as-is. If it’s a pill, crush it up.) 
  • Put it in a clean container and mix with a half-teaspoon of water; if it’s a methamphetamine, mix it with a teaspoon of water. 
  • Place the wavy end of the strip in the mixture for about 15 seconds. 
  • Lay the strip down on a flat surface for 2 to 5 minutes. 
  • Read the results. 
• Reading the results: Two bars on the strip indicates a negative result. One bar indicates the substance tested positive for fentanyl.

Potential limitations

• In some instances, fentanyl test strips can produce false positives, according to some studies.
  • Alison Heller of FentCheck, a Bay Area nonprofit that distributes fentanyl test strips, said the group’s strips have “no known” false positives when testing meth, MDMA (molly or ecstasy) or pills.  

• In rare cases, fentanyl test strips may produce a false negative, but only when the strip is not interacting with a part of the batch that is laced. Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a professor of addiction medicine at University of California, San Francisco, said to be especially wary when testing counterfeit pills because of the “chocolate chip cookie effect,” where fentanyl, like chocolate chips, might be disbursed in different parts of the pill. A false negative rarely occurs if the strip interacts with a non-compromised part of the pill, which is why crushing it up is encouraged. 

• If someone wishes to take a pill, Ciccarone advises to buy two and test one of them before taking the other. 

How to use Narcan nasal spray, via Narcan

• It is highly recommended that you take a training course before you use Narcan on an individual and you learn to recognize when someone is overdosing. 
• If you are sure a person is overdosing, call 911 immediately. This person needs medical care.  
• Lay the person on their back. 
• Open the Narcan package using the tab at the back with the circle on it. 
• Put your middle and index finger on the side of the nozzle, and place your thumb on the red plunger at the bottom.
• Tilt the person’s head back and put the nozzle up inside one nostril, until your fingers are at the base of the person’s nose.
• Press the plunger firmly up the nose. 
• See Narcan’s steps and visual instructions here. 

Rules of thumb when buying/using, via a doctor and CDC

• Generally, drugs purchased on the street have a higher risk of being laced.
• Research and educate yourself on your supplier.
• Ciccarone said he would not trust any pills on the market without testing them first. 
• Test your drugs if you are unsure.
• Just because you bought it and it was fine once, doesn’t mean it will again. Don’t play “Russian Roulette,” Ciccarone says.
• Avoid mixing drugs, and never use alone.