SAMHSA bars grant funding for drug-checking test strips
SAMHSA-funded programs must remove test strips from grant-funded spending
Change
SAMHSA issued an April 2026 letter stating that grant funding cannot be used to purchase or distribute fentanyl, xylazine, medetomidine or other drug-checking test strips.
Why it matters
The directive changes how SAMHSA-funded overdose-prevention and harm-reduction programs can spend federal grant money. Programs that previously used SAMHSA funds for test-strip procurement or distribution must either stop those activities under SAMHSA-funded lines or use another funding source. Grant compliance teams need to block reimbursement, purchasing and vendor payments for covered test strips under SAMHSA awards.
Implications
- — State and tribal opioid-response grant administrators using SAMHSA funds must remove fentanyl, xylazine, medetomidine and other drug-checking test strips from SAMHSA-funded purchasing or distribution plans — those costs are no longer allowable under the letter.
- — Harm-reduction program managers operating with SAMHSA-funded grants must separate test-strip distribution from SAMHSA-funded activities — continued distribution requires a non-SAMHSA funding source.
- — Grant compliance and finance teams must block reimbursement requests, purchase orders and vendor payments for covered test strips under SAMHSA awards — approving those costs conflicts with the new funding directive.
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