Naloxone (name of medication) or Narcan™ (a common brand name) is a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose, including overdoses due to fentanyl. It is available without a prescription and legal to carry. Opioids include heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioid medications such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, and morphine. Naloxone must be given quickly and 911 should be called to respond with additional care. After a quick training, anyone can administer naloxone to another person who has overdosed on opioids.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Many individuals consume fentanyl without their knowledge (because they don’t realize that it is in the drugs they’re using), while others are intentionally using fentanyl because of its potency.
Xylazine is a non-opioid sedative that is approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for animal use, but not for people. Xylazine is increasingly added to other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or fentanyl to enhance the effect or increase street value. Xylazine is dangerous because it can depress breathing, blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature to critical levels and, in combination with fentanyl, can make overdose reversal challenging.
Fentanyl test strips (FTS) and xylazine test strips (XTS) are used to test drugs for the presence of fentanyl or xylazine. Because these drugs may not be evenly distributed throughout a product (known as the chocolate chip cookie effect), test strips may not always be able to accurately detect their presence. https://www.samhsa.gov/medications-substance-use-disorders/medications-counseling-related-conditions/fentanyl-xylazine-test-strips#:~:text=Xylazine%20test%20strips%20(XTS)%20are,detect%20the%20presence%20of%20xylazine.
California's 911 Good Samaritan law (AB 472) provides limited protection from arrest, charge and prosecution for people who seek emergency medical assistance at the scene of a suspected drug overdose. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1799.102.&lawCode=HSC