Harm reduction advocates in Madison, Wisconsin, are organizing what could be the state’s first authorized public drug-checking program—but with funding and support from local officials still in limbo, they don’t know when they’ll be able to launch.
Alan Robinson, founder of cannabis brand Herbal Aspect and former executive director of WI NORML, would be the director of the proposed Narcotics Outreach Chemical Analysis Program (NOCAP). But after initially signaling interest in the idea, the local health department backed away due to what Robinson characterized as uncertainty around the legality of operating such a program.
“There is a fair amount of support,” Robinson told Filter. “We [also] have folks who don’t want to see crime go up in their neighborhoods as a result … that’s a nuanced conversation that involves educating individuals about how these harm reduction services reduce crime.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) signed legislation decriminalizing fentanyl test strips in 2022, followed by xylazine test strips in 2024. Both were previously categorized as drug paraphernalia. These test strips cost about $1 and are among the free supplies commonly distributed by syringe service programs, but they only produce binary results as to whether or not a sample contains any fentanyl (including fentanyl analogs) or xylazine. They can’t indicate whether any other substances are present, nor anything about the amount of fentanyl or xylazine present.
“Fentanyl, that was the first wave. Since then we have xylazine, medetomidine and BPS plastic in a lot of the drug supply,” Skye Boughman, clinical director and founder of the harm reduction organization CAYA Clinic, told Filter. “Nobody knows what they’re using anymore. Once we have that information … we can share that out with the entire community.” (CAYA Clinic is not affiliated with NOCAP.)
Forensic drug-checking technology can provide a wealth information that test strips cannot, but hasn’t yet been decriminalized. As with other programs around the country in similar legal gray areas, NOCAP needs buy-in from local officials who agree to let it operate without prosecuting organizers or participants.
NOCAP would have its own Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, a small machine that a trained technician can use to analyze drug samples and identify what substances are in them. These are the same machines used at overdose prevention centers and other government-authorized drug-checking programs. These analyses don’t require large samples in order to yield accurate results, and can generally be conducted with only residue.
“Someone’s not going to come in with a bag full of drugs,” Boughman said. “They will bring in the baggie it came in.”
FTIR analyses take only minutes, and program participants are able to have an interactive discussion with the technician about the results and what they mean. This method can be used to identify any known substance, as well as give a general impression of how much of that substance is present. NOCAP already has a technician attached to the project. The program would also have access to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS), which which is used for samples that call for a more detailed analysis.
“One of the big trends we’ve seen is the number of middle-aged Black and Brown men who are stimulant users,” Boughman said, “but then fentanyl and sedatives were introduced into the supply, and they have no tolerance. We’ve lost a lot of Black and Brown men in this area. The number of Indigenous deaths in Wisconsin continues to go up, and it is heartbreaking.”
The plan is for NOCAP to operate out of a standalone facility, but organizers don’t yet know where that would be. Robinson, who also sits on the county overdose fatality review committee, said they’re scouting locations.
Funding is also a barrier. Robinson said that there are ongoing discussions with the Dane County Board of Supervisors about potentially allocating a portion of opioid settlement payouts for NOCAP, but it’s not yet clear whether this will happen.
Another potential funder is Vital Strategies, a health nonprofit that’s previously supported harm reduction initiatives, including in Wisconsin, but nothing has been finalized there either. Adrienne Hurst, senior technical advisor for Vital Strategies’ Overdose Prevention Program, told Filter that the nonprofit is “exploring the possibility” of supporting NOCAP.
Currently there’s no concrete timeline for moving the program forward.
Images via New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene drug-checking team
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