Thank you to Derek Heid and WKBW for highlighting MATTERS in this news story. We are proud to distribute harm reduction supplies across New York State to improve access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips.
External News: ‘We can treat other people as human beings’: Matthew’s Law expands access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips
By Derek Heid
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County Department of Health has counted 322 opioid-related overdose deaths through November 8, 2023 — Now, a new law aims to save people from falling victim to accidental overdoses.
Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Matthew’s Law, expanding access to Narcan, as well as fentanyl and xylazine test strips, to local pharmacies and health care providers.
This would allow more people to receive free supplies that can test for Fentanyl in drugs before using them.
“The fentanyl test strips are the tool to know if there are drugs in what’s sitting in front of them that they may not be aware of,” said Chief Medical Officer of the Matters Network Joshua Lynch DO, FACAP.
The Matters network urges these people to be safe, by offering home delivered fentanyl and xylazine test strips for free.
“If somebody is going to use cocaine, we recommend they test that cocaine to see if there’s fentanyl in it.”
The demand of these products has steadily increased since they started delivering the test strips months ago. “We went from getting a couple hundred orders a day, at the most, to upwards of thousands of orders a day,” said Harm Reduction Specialist Mia Dickinson.
To read the rest of the article, visit the WKBW website.
To order free harm reduction supplies, click here.