SAN DIEGO — Fentanyl and other deadly opioids are now the leading cause of overdose death among people ages 18-49. Chemists are manufacturing test kits in Miramar to fight this epidemic.
Lauren Horner is a San Diego mother of three that, like many parents, has fears of her kids encountering Fentanyl or any other hard drugs at some point in their lives.
"Especially when so many of these drugs look like Skittles or gummy bears, and they may not know what’s in it," said Horner.
"There are younger kids, and they shouldn’t be doing this at a young age or even at all," said Horner's 13-year-old daughter, Eden.
Fentanyl home and school test kits are being manufactured in San Diego. Law enforcement has used these kits for years, and now it is available for parents and school faculty.
"One pill or one attempt of fentanyl can kill you, and we have to help them to find these things in the community and get rid of them, and that’s what our test kits do," said Betros.
Matthew Hornor is the co-founder. He says being a parent is a driving force behind creating this product.
"That’s the driving reason behind all this," said Matthew Hornor.
The testing kits can test for meth, cocaine, heroin, and more. You must use the testing pen, swab the drug you want to test, and rub the Q-tip on the color reference panel. Within seconds, the color will show you if it’s a positive or negative result of the drug being used.
"Detect and dispose of them before someone potentially has an overdose incident," said Betros.
These kits are sold for $20 for two kits online. They will also be sold in retail stores soon.
"It's not aimed for the user; it's for the people around that person that the user is going to take something and root it and find it," said Betros.
He says the kits are easy to use and non-hazardous.
16-year-old local high school student Charlotte Hughes tried using the testing kit to see how it worked and said she would use it if needed.
"For sure, if I went to a party in college and people were doing hardcore stuff; for example, cocaine, I would test it before if I saw my friend. I'd say, 'let me just test it to make sure it's okay' because now there are so many deaths, of course," said Hughes.
And for Lauren Hornor, these testing kits provide some relief as a parent.
"For me, I think it’s going to make sure I have peace of mind and take away anxiety," she says.
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