"There's Fentanyl in Everything" - Addressing Myths & Fears

While we will always encourage folx to carry Narcan, use fentanyl test-strips, buy from the same dealer, etc., the odds of fentanyl being in your party drugs are very small.

Healthy caution is good - unjustified fear and misinformation are not.

We are certainly not against caution; in fact, PartySafe Medics provides fentanyl test strips, 9 different drug-checking reagents, and Narcan for all events we’re present at. 

But the odds that fentanyl is in your party-drugs are EXTREMELY small.

In NYC, a pilot study (Estrada et. Al, 2025) used 5 highly precise drug-checking machines (mass spectrometers) and fentanyl test-strips to test over 1,600 drug samples for fentanyl. 

Of the 309 cocaine samples submitted, 1 tested positive for fentanyl (which, upon secondary testing, was shown to be a false positive). 

Of the 62 methamphetamine samples, 0 contained fentanyl.  

Of the 184 psychedelics samples, 0 contained fentanyl.

Also, last year, Shambhala and Bass Coast Festivals in Canada, which also had dr*g-checking machines on-site, tested 4,838 samples that encompassed all dr*g classes (ANKORS, 2025). The # of samples that tested positive for fentanyl: 0.

In addition, certain drugs including MDMA, “molly”, amphetamines, are highly prone to false-positive fentanyl results. This is because those drugs require double the amount of water (1 tsp) for testing with test-strips, than most other drugs like cocaine and ketamine (½ tsp).

It’s important to dispell these myths and fears because: 

• People may mistake any adverse reaction to drugs for an opioid overdose even when no opioids are present.

• Fears can be weaponized for spreading misinformation, and passing harmful legislation that criminalizes other drugs.

• Potential risks for using drugs should not be overstated, nor understated. 

• False positives can be attributed to testing incorrectly.

Works Cited

“2024 Festival Drug Checking Infographic 26x98 Web -1.” Interior Health Drug Checking, Interior Health Canada, 2025, drugchecking.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2023-Festival-Drug-Checking-Infographic-26x98-WEB-1.pdf. 

“What You Can Do to Test for Fentanyl.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/stop-overdose/safety/index.html. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025. 

Estrada, Yarelix, et al. “The prevalence of fentanyl in New York City’s unregulated drug supply as measured through drug checking offered at Syringe Service Programs.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 268, Mar. 2025, p. 112578, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2025.112578.