PA Groundhogs

PA GROUNDHOGS (PAG), a community based drug-checking program serving the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and bordering states, launched in 2023, shortly after Governor Josh Shapiro signed a law legalizing all drug checking technologies for the purpose of harm reduction, and providing for third-party access to these technologies. Leveraging our existing relationship with the non-profit Center for Forensic  Science, Research & Education–the nation’s leading lab for the discovery of NPS–we began building the foundation for a unique organization that would offer individuals and community organizations across the state FREE access to real-time data on their evolving local drug supply. Our multidisciplinary team, which includes chemists and toxicologists, but also drug market experts, ethnographers and public health experts works to bring context to our data. We are now expanding into other states with a white-label program,  gogroundhogs.org, whose motto is “Stop Guessing; Start Checking.” We are currently piloting this program in Trenton, N.J., and have received inquiries about our platform from as far away as Alaska.