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Comment by YinglingLight | Hacker News Reader

Keep going after fentanyl. It's poisoning us.

Fentanyl is dangerous, sure, but until we address the root issues that cause people to take up opiods in the first place (over-prescription, sometimes, but certainly also hopelessness and mental health issues), it'll be an endless game of whack-a-mole.

I think the most cost-effective thing we could do right now to reduce fentanyl deaths is offer test kits free in pharmacies across the country. Anecdotally, the majority of fentanyl deaths I hear of are from people who think they're shooting heroin and don't realize their dope is laced with fentanyl.

No offense, but do you honestly believe most heroin users are going to buy a test kit to test their drugs and then if it tests positive not use them? The practical value of those test kits seems low to me, as I don't believe they would be heavily used and I don't believe that many herion users wouldn't continue in the fact of a positive test.

No, I really don't- that's why I think it's important that it'd be free. Not every heroin user is under a bridge shooting up with dirty needles; they actually go and buy/exchange clean needles believe it or not. I don't think it's a big jump from there to testing your junk so you can keep your addiction on the down-low rather than having a family member find you blue one evening.

Never underestimate the power of Friction when it comes to reducing bad habits.

Yes this is true but the U.S. handles these things is the worst possible way. So when you say "Going after" it - the statistics show that the current means simply does not work and in fact may actually make the situation worse.

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