Did you know you can test your drugs anonymously?

You've heard me talk about the PA Groundhogs organization previously, mostly about their data on drug testing strips, and use cases for those strips. But I was first interested in P.A.G because of their anonymous drug testing lab. Put most simply, they test the supply of street drugs to issue public health notices. By understanding how much Fentanyl or synthetic drugs are in the supply, we can track the efficacy of lifesaving tools like Narcan, and track potential future overdoses.

I wanted to walk through the experience of ordering this test kit, so I visited their website and went through the prompts myself. 

I filled out a mailing address box, which did not have specific name boxes, so a user could theoretically put whatever name they wanted, for safety reasons. I then used my credit card to pay the $10 shipping fee for one test kit, and checked out. 

The package that arrived was covert – it actually took me a few minutes to remember what it was. It ships via “P.A.G Work Group” with a Philadelphia address, to me by first name, last initial and the address I provided.

Inside the standard size envelope is a pamphlet of directions and information requests: did you use a test strip on this sample? What was the zip code where it was purchased? Was the source the street or a private vendor? 

The test kit also contains the baggie and envelopes to ship the sample back to them, as well as a slip with a QR code to retrieve results and find out what’s in your supply. 

With this drug testing kit, the impetus is on you to provide factual information to the best of your ability, and to provide payment with a credit card - which might understandably turn some people off. They also offer bulk for organizations, and if you have the means, considering buying a few to keep around for friends or family. 

You can order those kits here.