It's been more than seven years since Chad Sabora last used heroin. It's something he never wants to do again. But just last week, he bought some in St. Louis and made this video.
As a recovery advocate, Sabora's fighting the opioid epidemic in and around St. Louis from the streets up.
“Because I know I can and somebody has to,” he said.
Lately, one of his focuses has been claims that powdered fentanyl, a man-made drug that’s many times more powerful than heroin, can cause a person to overdose just by touching it. In June a Houston-area police officer was treated for fentanyl exposure after grabbing a flier supposedly laced with the drug.
Sabora worries reports like that may make someone hesitate to try to help a person who's overdosing.
“I don't want that next person to die out of fear.”
So, he's taken to Facebook to launch his own truth campaign, of sorts, with a visual demonstration he thinks will dispel the fear.
“I opened the heroin bean, I used a fentanyl test strip, we saw a positive confirmation of fentanyl and then I dumped it in my hand and let it sit there while Sarah explained the science,” said Sabora.
“Sarah” is pharmacologist, Dr. Sarah Sottille, Ph.D., who joined Sabora in the video.
“The risk of overdosing from just touching fentanyl or any opiate analog is vanishingly low,” said Sottille.
While some may consider it extreme, Sabora believes his demonstration may keep people alive.
"I survived. I wasn't intoxicated. So, please don't let somebody die. Help them reverse that overdose. Call 911 and help save their life."
To verify Sabora’s and Sottile’s claims, 5 On Your Side checked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an email, CDC spokesperson Stephanie Stevens said the claims are accurate.
“Skin contact is a possible route of exposure, but is unlikely to result in symptoms of opioid exposure because of the difficulty of powdered fentanyl to gain access to a person’s circulation through intact skin (unlike fentanyl that has been formulated to be absorbed through the skin as a medication).”
