The objective was to explore the presence of fentanyl in illegalized stimulants from various regions of the country to complement the epidemiological panorama at the national level due to the existing research gap on this opioid and regarding the analysis of substances in Mexico. As well as, implement harm reduction strategies in regions that have not had similar community interventions, such as the city of Aguascalientes. There, personal use kits for stimulants were provided and 151 samples of crystal, cocaine and MDMA were tested out of a total of 485 collected in Mexico City, Tijuana and Mexicali. No fentanyl was detected in any of the samples collected in the four cities. Similar findings were reflected in Canada, based on empirical evidence that fentanyl is not a common adulterant in the supply of stimulants in these cities. This suggests that contamination of this market, at least in these regions, is an isolated case, but there is definitely a possibility that it could occur on a common basis. What requires the implementation of a permanent monitoring system by community organizations and research on barriers and facilitators of access for its development, such as stigma, the main barrier found in Aguascalientes where the detection of crystal in others is also pertinent. stimulants made illegal due to their predominance in the local market for these substances.
I am a woman who uses drugs. Graduate in History, Master in Social Research. My lines of interest are harm reduction, qualitative methods, ethnography and drug use, fentanyl detection and crystal use. I am a member of Latin America for a Sensible Drug Policy and I have collaborated with the Drug Policy Program and Verter with whom I have published in Harm Reduction Journal, International Journal of Drug Policy and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Currently, my doctoral thesis project addresses the coping strategies of people who use drugs when faced with drug scares that circulate in public media spaces in Mexico.