By distributing fentanyl testing strips, a group of students at the University of Southern California (USC)) hope to help minimize the incidence of drug overdoses.

The initiative, dubbed Team Awareness Combating Overdose (TACO), was founded back in 2020 after a dozen students at the prestigious university died as a result of fentanyl poisoning.

For context, only 2 milligrams of fentanyl — a tasteless, odorless, and colorless drug — is considered a “potentially lethal dose,” and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) describes it as being “similar to morphine but about 100 times more potent.”

In response to the epidemic, TACO has distributed thousands of fentanyl test strips throughout college campuses within the Golden State, and it has even begun shipping to schools all across the country.

“Our goal is to remove any and all barriers so that you have absolutely no reason not to be testing your drugs,” co-founder Madeline Hilliard noted.

“Fentanyl is a big deal because you can take it accidentally,” co-founder Jack Elliott said. “There could be a couple grains of sand-sized amounts of fentanyl in your drug, and that can kill you.”

TACO’s mission comes as drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the U.S. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently unveiled data suggesting that, in 2021, overdose deaths were at the highest level on record.

Additionally, this news comes less than a week after Los Angeles pledged to distribute 50,000 boxes of Narcan (aka Naloxone), which is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

It’s also worth noting that yesterday (Tuesday, May 10) was the first-ever Fentanyl Awareness Day, showing that people are becoming more familiar with the deadly drug and different ways to combat the issue.

Many organizations like TACO are giving out fentanyl testing strips for free, and they can also be purchased from select retailers.

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