One of the worst parts of prohibition is that it severely reduces the quality of drugs.
Misrepresentation (selling one drug as another) and impurities are incredibly common.
There's effectively no part of the drug market that's not affected by this issue and it's
largely caused by terrible laws.
Although things will never be ideal with the current laws, there are ways to reduce the
harm certain substances can bring.
One of the best harm reduction tools is drug checking, which includes reagent tests along
with more advanced testing services.
As part of the International Drug Checking Day, I wanted to briefly talk about how you
can utilize these tools and why it's important.
More information about drug checking will be available elsewhere on The Drug Classroom.
Reagent tests are specific chemical mixtures that'll interact with components of certain
drugs to yield a color reaction.
Some of the popular ones are Marquis, Mandelin, Mecke, Ehrlich, Liebermann, Simon's, Froehde,
and Folin.
You'll want to use various combinations of these depending on the drug you're testing.
Because of how easy it is to use these tests and how high the consequences of not using
them can be, I recommend nearly always using reagents with illicit drugs and research chemicals.
You only need to use a tiny amount per test.
A small visible amount of powder either from a sample sold as a powder or scrapped off
a tablet is all that's required.
If you're testing blotter paper, about one-tenth of the blotter should be fine.
For handling, make sure not to get the testing liquid on your skin, don't touch the reagent
bottle to the sample, and always wash off your testing surface when you're done.
For storage, the shelf life will vary.
You'll generally get at least 6 to 12 months of use if the liquids are stored in the dark
and in a low temperature area, such as a refri gerator.
As I don't yet have a video showing the testing process, I'm including links to two guides
down below.
The process is very simple.
Use a small piece of your drug sample for testing.
Apply one drop of the reagent to the substance.
Now observe the color change that takes place over a period of 30 seconds.
You'll want to pay attention to the immediate color reaction as well as what the color becomes
after.
Now you just have to compare the reaction to a color chart.
This process can be repeated with different tiny samples using different reagents to enhance
the usefulness of the technique.
For example, MDMA could be tested with Marquis, Mandelin, and Simon's.
While LSD could be tested with Ehrlich and Marquis.
Adulterants and misrepresentation are found throughout the drug market.
Some of the markets that have been particularly problematic are MDMA and LSD.
The MDMA market has at various times and in various places contained drugs like PMA, PMMA,
piperazines, and substituted cathinones.
While the LSD market has been affected by NBOMes and members of the DOx class.
Although it's often possible to get the right drug if you're buying from the research chemical
market, that's not always the case.
There have been instances of vendors intentionally or unintentionally selling the wrong substance.
So even if you're buying a drug that's technically legal, it should still be tested.
There are dozens if not hundreds of research chemicals entering the market each year.
Many of them continue to impact the aforementioned markets and the problem isn't going to disappear
without legalization.
Some of these drugs, such as PMA, 25i-NBOMe, and certain cathinones, have caused significant
health issues and fatalities.
When you don't know what you're taking, it's simply not possible to use the drug in a truly
safe way.
To figure out how your drug sample should react, there are a few resources you can turn
to.
The Bunk Police YouTube channel shows reagent interactions with a wide variety of substances.
Another good option is viewing color charts from DanceSafe and others.
You can also visit EcstasyData, which is associated with Erowid.
Their drug listings often include reagent results.
To use EcstasyData, you can visit the site and type in the drug you're looking for.
If you pick a sample that has only come up with the single substance you're interested
in, then the reagent results should be helpful.
Browsing the site will also give you an idea of the adulterants that are present in a given
drug market.
Both the Bunk Police results and the DanceSafe results are quite reliable.
I recommend using those resources first before turning to others, which is typically only
needed for more obscure research chemicals.
As there is the potential for a mistake in someone's posted results, you should look
for multiple sources of verification to figure out the expected reaction.
Reagent testing is far from perfect.
A good result doesn't mean you have a pure or even an accurate drug.
The benefit of using reagents, especially multiple tests, is that you'll reduce the
likelihood of taking an unexpected drug.
But you won't eliminate that chance.
If your LSD, MDMA, cocaine, etc shows up as something other than expected, you know not
to put it in your body.
With a good result, there's still the possibility that you're dealing with a substance that
has the same reaction as the intended drug or that the positive result is covering up
adulterants.
Both of these are distinct possibilities, yet they shouldn't keep you from utilizing
the tests.
Other technologies exist that are actually capable of identifying which drugs are in
a sample.
One of the top combinatory tools is Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
It's an analytical method that can usually determine which substances are in a sample.
The downside is that you must send your sample elsewhere to receive the results and you may
also have to pay a fee.
Two of the largest services for GC-MS drug checking are EcstasyData and Energy Control.
Both come with a fee and they'll accept samples from around the world.
There are other local providers in various countries, some of which provide certain kinds
of advanced testing for free.
You can find a list of the providers in the description.
I don't have any financial connection to any test kit vendor.
But I do want to mention a few that appear to have a good reputation.
Of course, you should always do your own research.
DanceSafe covers the US and global markets.
Bunk Police operates in the US.
And Reagent Tests UK operates in the UK and EU.
I'd like to acknowledge the great work DanceSafe and Bunk Police have been doing.
Not only have they helped inform the public, they are often present at music events to
help people remain safer through drug checking.
Erowid's EcstasyData is also a remarkably valuable service and is probably the best
way to get a drug sample tested if you're in the US.
As always, if you have any questions, you can leave them in the comments section.
And if you'd like to support TDC, please visit patreon.com/TheDrugClassroom.