Leadership

Changing lives and fighting the flow of illegal drugs

August 2024

At Thermo Fisher, we are very proud of the many ways we make a positive impact by fulfilling our Mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. One example that cuts across our Mission is our role in addressing the opioid crisis.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 107,000 people died of drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2023, and 81,000 of those involved opioids such as synthetic fentanyl. And, according to the World Health Organization, drug use accounts for more than 600,000 deaths worldwide, with close to 80% opioid-related. Many of us know someone who has been affected.

Opioid use is also associated with a higher risk of arrest and involvement with the criminal justice system. But recently, some states and regional governments have launched alternative-sentencing programs to help people battling addiction stay out of prison and get the treatment and support they need.

 

The goal is to address the underlying issue –  helping those with drug addiction to rebuild heathier lives, while making communities safer. These programs usually require frequent drug testing of participants to both discourage drug use relapse and direct future treatment and enforcement decisions.

 

That’s where Thermo Fisher comes in, with our broad portfolio of drug testing solutions.

 

These instruments and immunoassays are capable of running hundreds of tests per hour for many different substances, including marijuana, methamphetamines, fentanyl, alcohol, benzodiazepines and opiates. We can also provide customized tests tailored to new drugs that emerge and those that are prevalent in a particular community.

Quotation marks
"I’m proud of our role in addressing this crisis – and in helping to solve so many other challenges in our world – as we continue to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer.."
Marc Casper
President and CEO
Thermo Fisher Scientific

For example, we’ve been supporting a successful alternative sentencing program in Washoe County, Nevada, for the past five years.

 

In 2023 alone, the program diverted participants from nearly 285,000 hours of jail time, helping them overcome their addiction and saving the county millions of dollars that would have been spent on incarceration. You can learn about our role in the recent story “Tackling crime by trading punishment for treatment” on our corporate website.

 

Of course, there is another side to the fight against the opioid crisis: stemming the flow of illegal drugs into our communities. We play an important role here as well by providing the chemical analysis instruments to stop drugs on the street and at the border.

 

This technology includes our TruNarc Handheld Narcotics Analyzer, which can quickly scan for over 530 suspected controlled substances, and the Gemini Chemical Identification Analyzer, a handheld device that scans for chemicals and explosives.

 

TruNarc is even capable of reading through plastic and glass, making it possible for public safety and emergency medical personnel to rapidly identify a substance without opening the container. And, in an overdose emergency, knowing the substance involved can help responders react promptly and administer the correct lifesaving antidote.

 

While TruNarc is now used by law enforcement agencies in all 50 states in the U.S., as well as in 50 other countries, the urgent need for more support has captured the attention of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Congress has introduced the bipartisan Providing Officers with Electronic Resources (POWER) Act.

 

This proposed legislation would provide federal funding to assist law enforcement agencies across the country in acquiring advanced technology – like our analyzers – to fight the drug traffic. I’m hopeful this legislation will be passed as it will provide more support for those on the frontlines.

 

In the meantime, I’m proud of our role in addressing this crisis – and in helping to solve so many other challenges in our world – as we continue to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. 

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