CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County and the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County are funneling $60,000 into the Fentanyl Test Strip grassroots distribution program to continue its operation through 2020. Each will provide $30,000, according to a news release.

The grassroots fentanyl test strip program launched in June in response to a high number of fatal overdoses in the county in which fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was present in cocaine.

“While it is our hope that everyone using drugs stop using and get into a treatment program, we know that that is not going to be the case for everyone,” Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said in a prepared statement. “The fentanyl test strips give people important information regarding the strength and deadliness of their drugs. This program is saving lives so that people can come into treatment.”

The county’s high overdose death rates are linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil, notably in the black community where fentanyl has been found in cocaine products, the release said.

The county launched the Fentanyl Test Strip program in June after seeing an increase in overdose fatalities over Memorial Day weekend. So far, 15,000 test strips have been distributed in the community by 20 businesses and 20 community organizations, according to the release.

The ADAMHS Board, which oversees distribution of the test strips, coordinated with local law enforcement and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to identify businesses near locations of multiple overdoses. They put test strips and instructions for use in waiting areas and bathrooms and at checkout counters of gas stations, corner stores and barbershops, according to the release.

The ADAMHS Board and its partners also distributed education and information and held a targeted public awareness campaign in the black community via radio, print and grassroots information dissemination to warn people about the dangers of fentanyl.

There was not an increase in overdose deaths in the county over the Fourth of July weekend, which program organizers say could be tied to the availability of Narcan, fentanyl test strips and information about synthetic opioids.

"It is important to recognize that addiction is a chronic brain disorder, not a bad choice or moral failing. Harm reduction tools like Narcan (Naloxone) and fentanyl test strips are potentially life-saving when people have access to them,” ADAMHS Board CEO Scott S. Osiecki said in a prepared statement. “We don’t condone drug use, but we understand that keeping people alive lets them have a chance at getting into treatment and living a life in recovery.”

A recent study by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University showed that 86% of drug users would use fentanyl test strips, 84% were worried about fentanyl being present in drugs, and 70% would change their behavior if they knew fentanyl was in the drugs they were using.

Locally, Circle Health Services, an organization funded by the ADAMHS Board, conducted a survey of participants in its syringe exchange program that found that those surveyed were willing to change their use behaviors — stopping use of drugs, carrying Narcan or limiting their use of drugs — when fentanyl was found in their drugs, according to the release. Circle Health Services distributes fentanyl test strips as part of its syringe exchange program.

Local distribution sites include:

Circle Health Services

Main office: 12201 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.

Syringe exchange van: Parked at HUMADAOP, 3305 West 25th St., Cleveland, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Care Alliance Health Center

Central Clinic: 2916 Central Ave., Cleveland.

St. Clair Clinic: 1530 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland.

Riverview Clinic, 1795 West 25th St., Cleveland.

Stokes Clinic: 6001 Woodland Ave., Cleveland.

Also available at the Mobile Clinic.

​Barber Shops

Urban Kutz Barbershop: 11106 Detroit Ave., Cleveland.

Urban Kutz Barbershop: 4491 Pearl Road, Cleveland.

Just Clip It: 5141 Warrensville Center Road, Cleveland.

Labarberia Institute of Hair: 1633 Golden Gate Plaza, Mayfield Heights.

​FrontLine Service

Main Clinic: 1744 Payne Ave., Cleveland.

For more information on fentanyl test strip availability, visit testyourdrugscc.com.