How to use nitazene test strips
By: Emily Hughes
Principal Science Advisor, New Zealand Drug Foundation
May 2nd, 2024 | Latest Research, Tips
What are nitazenes?
Nitazenes are potent synthetic opioids that are as strong or stronger than fentanyl. Just a few grains of a nitazene can cause an opioid overdose.
We’ve seen more nitazenes over the last year and they may be linked to several deaths and hospitalizations in New Zealand. They may be misrepresented as other opioids such as oxycodone pills or other drugs. High Alert released a notification about N-desethyletonitazene sold as diazepam in the form of a blue pill.
You can read more about nitazenes here. Order free nitazene test strips from the Drug Foundation resource page.
What are nitazene test strips?
Get a pack of five free nitazene test strips from our Resources page.
Nitazene test strips can be used to detect whether there is nitazene in your drug. They can test for most types of nitazenes, but it is important to remember they are not guaranteed to detect them.
Nitazene test strips won’t test for the presence of other opioids, such as fentanyl. You can use a fentanyl test strip to test for these, which you can order for free on The Level.
How do I prepare my drugs to use a nitazene test strip?
You will need 5-10mg of your drug to test for nitazenes. This is about the size of a matchstick head, or the top of a syringe plug. When you order nitazene test strips from The Level, they come with a microscoop to help you measure this out (1 level scoop = 10mgs).
You can test any type of drug with a nitazene test strip. Crystals and pills should be crushed and mixed into a powder before testing. It is best to test pills by crushing up the whole pill into a powder before measuring out 10mgs. This is to reduce the risk of the ‘chocolate chip cookie effect’ – where some parts of the sample contain nitazene, and others don’t.
How do I use a nitazene test strip?
Step 1: Make sure your drug is crushed into a powder.
Step 2: Measure out 5-10mgs of your drug, ideally using a microscoop.
Step 3: Measure out around 5mL of water using a syringe or a teaspoon (use sterile water and equipment if you are planning on injecting this after).
Step 4: Mix the water and your measured out drug together in a small cup or bottlecap.
Step 5: Hold the strip by the green end and place the end with the wavy lines into your drug water mix. Make sure to not dip it in above the horizontal blue line.
Step 6: Hold the strip in the water for about 10-15 seconds, making sure you can see the water coming up the white part of the strip.
Step 7: Lay the strip down on a hard flat surface, like a table. Wait for about 60 seconds to read the results.
Step 8: Interpret the results:
One line is a positive result: your drug contains nitazenes.
Two lines is a negative result: the test could not detect nitazenes in your drug.
Even a faint second line is a negative result.
No lines or a line only on the ‘T’ area (line closest to the wiggly lines) is an inconclusive result, you will need to do the test again with another strip.
Images from BTNX.com
Remember, you can get free nitazene test strips from the Drug Foundation website.
Call the New Zealand Drug Foundation if you want to anonymously talk through these results on (04) 801 6303, or email drugchecking@drugfoundation.org.nz.
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