As the number of drug overdose deaths attributed to it skyrocket, hospitals in Maryland must start reporting the detection of fentanyl in drug tests to the state Department of Health.

Under a bill signed into law this month by Governor Wes Moore after it passed this year’s session of the Maryland General Assembly, all hospitals will screen for fentanyl in urine drug tests. Results that detect it will be sent to the Maryland Department of Health, with names and other personal information redacted. Hospitals that do not have the equipment to do such tests are exempted. The law goes into effect Oct. 1, 2023.

Charles County Senator Arthur Ellis sponsored the measure, which he says is all about gathering more information. Currently he says, drug tests rarely screen for fentanyl. “We don’t really know the extent of the problem because they’re not being tested,” Ellis told WYPR. “So once we get the numbers, we can have the appropriate community response.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-times stronger than heroin and 100-times stronger than morphine according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. When produced illicitly, it can be added to drugs like cocaine and heroin to increase their potency. The prevalence of that has been rapidly increasing in recent years, the number of overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl has skyrocketed.

In Maryland, the state’s Overdose Data Dashboard showed over a one-year period that ended in October 2022 that 82% of the 2,454 overdose deaths in the state were attributable to fentanyl.