PA Groundhogs employs mass spectrometry technology through its affiliation with the Center for Forensic Science, Research & Education (CFSRE), in Horsham, PA, to develop regional profiles of Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply, anticipate overdose clusters, analyze changes in drug purity & composition, and identify new psychoactive substances in an effort to proactively alert Pennsylvanians who use drugs about strong batches, new synthetic analogs, and potentially dangerous contaminants. Other partner organizations include Penn State University's Consortium on Drug Use & Addiction, the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network (PAHRN); Narcomedia LLC; KMFK Safety Services; and University of Pennsylvania medical staff, who help facilitate our Clinician Awareness Program.
OUR GOALS
- Increase transparency for people who use drugs in Pennsylvania by providing both point-of-use drug testing equipment (fentanyl, xylazine, and benzodiazepine test strips) and mass spectrometry analysis of individual drug samples;
- Compile a statewide data repository that can track changes in the purity and composition of Pennsylvania’s illicit drug supply in near real-time and employ “anticipatory intelligence”— a relatively new approach to public health that combines information and data from multiple disciplines–in an effort to forecast where high potency or tainted batches of illicit drugs are most likely to hit next;
- Serve as a media watchdog by monitoring drug-related news in Pennsylvania and issuing Fact-Checks to hasty and sensational news stories that lack a grounding in science or are based on misconceptions about drugs and drug users;
- Improve drug-user health through a network of medical advisors that will use our quantitative data to educate the clinical community in Pennsylvania on fluctuations in drug purity to ensure they are providing tolerance-appropriate pain and/or withdrawal management for drug-dependent patients.
