With fentanyl linked to most opioid deaths in Chicago, city now passing out free test strips

CHICAGO — The steps are simple: Mix a few grains of the drug sample with a ketchup cup’s worth of water, dip a tiny strip of paper and wait.

Within minutes, the strip displays results: One line means there is fentanyl, and two lines mean there isn’t.

That paper, which can detect any presence of fentanyl in a substance, is one of the latest tools Chicago officials and social service organizations are using against the deadly opioid that has infiltrated the city’s illicit drug supply and is responsible for most of its fatal overdoses in recent years. The Chicago Department of Public