With the growing availability of fentanyl test strips on store shelves and online, Health Canada would like to remind Canadians of the potential limitations when using fentanyl test strips to detect fentanyl or other deadly substances in street drugs before consuming them.

No fentanyl test strips are specifically designed to check street drugs before consumption. Some strips are designed to detect fentanyl and some analogs (similar chemicals, such as carfentanil) in an individual's urine sample to determine whether they have taken the drug. Others are designed to detect fentanyl and some analogs in substances that are, for example, seized by law enforcement. Therefore, it is important that people who are using fentanyl test strips to check street drugs before consuming them understand the limitations and use the necessary precautions. Health Canada is reminding Canadians that to help prevent a fatal overdose, it is important to treat all street drugs as though they are potentially contaminated with unknown deadly substances.