Beginning later this year, truck drivers will be tested for fentanyl as part of their regular drug and alcohol tests.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has approved testing for use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in oral and urine samples collected by federal agencies. Around July the Department of Transportation will issue its own rulemaking to add fentanyl to the list of drugs tested by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other DOT agencies.
Fentanyl can also be detected by hair testing, but only oral and urine tests are currently approved by the USDOT.
The fentanyl testing approval came from SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an arm of HHS, which is responsible for the scientific and technical requirements of drug testing. By law, all Department of Transportation agencies like FMCSA must follow SAMHSA guidelines in conducting drug and alcohol tests.
Driving the addition of fentanyl to the drug panel were lab reports that it has become the third most frequently identified drug, accounting for 13.81% of all drugs uncovered in forensic analyses.
Fentanyl is used both as a standalone substance and in combination with heroin and other substances. Effects from the use of fentanyl include relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. An overdose can cause stupor, coma, respiratory failure, and death.