Home drug checking kits reagent test kits

How can you know for sure that your MDMA really is MDMA or that the cocaine you were sold isn’t just lidocane?

You can CHECK IT!

And by this we don’t mean trying it out and guessing for yourself - we mean chemical analysis so you can see what is inside. Across Europe people can access drug checking services offering TLC (thin-layer chromatography) or infrared testing. This means that the exact contents of a pill, powder, blotter or liquid can be determined and alert you of any unexpected substances or adulterants.

What are adulterants?

Adulterants are substances found in illicit drugs which are added instead of or in addition to the expected substance. Adulterants might mimic the psychoactive effect of the drug you were planning to take or might induce similar physical effects, they might have no psychoactive action, result in unexpected or unintended effects or they could be harmful. Adulterants can also lead to fatalities.

What kind of adulterants should I be looking out for?

Ecstasy, MDMA or Molly (for the American crowd) is one of the most commonly used party drugs. Ecstasy tablets, MDMA capsules or powder could potentially contain adulterants and there is no way to tell just by looking, tasting or smelling. Just because you might have read about a pill on the internet or had one before that is the same shape, size, logo or colour there is no way to be completely sure that it contains MDMA and not something more harmful like PMA or PMMA.

Cocaine might contain lidocane which is a dental numbing agent. Speed (amphetamine) might have caffeine added which can lead to people taking it to experiencing anxiety. It also lasts longer than the effects of the amphetamine itself so can make come downs worse.

Taking care with blotters sold as LSD is important too as there have been instances of the stronger NBOMe substances which are extremely hard to dose. Taken unintentionally these could prove fatal.

With increased reports of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) globally it would seem the risk of ingesting an unexpected substance resulting in unexpected effects is increased.

So we say, JUST SAY KNOW- know what you are taking and how to reduce the risk.

How can I check my drugs?

If you have access to a checking service in your local area then you can usually go there in person or send your drugs in to be checked.

There are checking services in the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland. Some of these organisations also offer drug checking at festivals and parties with Check-in and Energy Control working at the biggest festivals in Spain and Portugal which attract many international visitors. Drug checking at a festival took place in the UK for the first time in the summer of 2016 and was led by The Loop!

Energy Control also offer an international drug checking service which costs €70- you can find out more on their website here.

If you aren’t able to access a checking service then you can try using a home reagent kit to find out if your pills are dodgy or your ketamine really is ketamine! Reagent testing can only identify the presence of a substance and cannot tell you anything about purity or quantities of different ingredients. It is still a good way to warn you of any potential adulterants and help you make more informed choices about the drugs you take.

So how can you check your drugs at home? Buy some reagents online, do some research and get checking. We have made a list of reagent sellers available online.

Reagent Sellers

DanceSafe

DanceSafe is a harm reduction organisation and collective in the USA.They have been providing harm reduction information, training and services for over 20 years. They are also selling reagents through their website and independant resellers. The organisation manufactures a whole range of reagents which can be bought to test phenlyamines, tryptamines and opioids.

DanceSafe sell individual plastic bottles of reagents which have droppers at neck of the bottle. There are helpful infographics and instructions on their website to help you decide which reagent to use for each substance and how to interpret the colour reaction.

You can find a their range of reagents on their website here. It is also possible to sign up as a reagent re-seller and help people access drug checking.

Bunk Police

Bunk Police launched in America and claims to be, “the most advanced and accurate substance testing on the planet”.

The test kits are sold in plastic bottles which can offer between 50- 100 tests. The bottles come in a safe plastic tub which contains a colour wheel in the lid and plastic tube with a cap in which to collect samples and carry out the test. This is a really easy to use test kit with simple instructions and nice design. The container looks a little like a tub of hair gel and the labelling and branding from Bunk Police is pretty cool.

The website for Bunk Police is also visually pleasing, where you can order reagents, find out more about testing and watch some of their excellent videos showing you different colour reactions.

They also have an Android app, Bunkleaks which “gives you access to thousands of lab-verified reactions in high definition” in addition to harm reduction information, FAQs, tips and tricks.

Kits cost $25 per reagent kit or you can purchase reagent packages which are sets of reagents or seperation test kits. The separation test kits allow you to perform TLC checking at home. Neat!

The Bunk Police team will soon be offering testing by mail and will also be able to test cannabis products to check CBD and THC content in addition to checking for the presence of pesticides or heavy metals.

Follow Bunk Police on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) for #FreeKitFriday to be in with a chance of winning a test kit of your choice.

Reagents UK

Based in the UK, this reagent seller works hard to make sure you have the best colourimetric reagents, quality containers to store them in and information about how to keep your reagents so they will be usable for as long as possible.

With a simple to navigate website Reagents UK have a great range of reagents which are sold in glass bottles with droppers included. Each bottle contains enough of the reagent liquid for around 30 tests.

SIN - Spoleczna Inicjatywa Narkopolityki

This social drug policy initiative based in Poland offer drug checking, harm reduction and information stalls at parties and have recently began selling reagents through their webstore. Their approach offers convenient and affordable home testing.

The single use test kits are sold in a medicine bottle style plastic tub with a child-safety lock which will also prevent any of the reagents inside leaking out. Inside you get a selection of reagents with 1-2 drops worth measured into individual centrifuge vials allowing you to conduct multiple tests on your batch of drugs.

Each test kit costs less than €2 or you can get in touch with them to buy in bulk if you are interested in becoming a distributor. It works out at around 8 Euro cents per test if you get a bottle- a super cheap way to test substances.

Since they are connected to the student movement the SIN team are well placed to stay at the forefront of drug trends in Europe and are always looking to share their knowledge with people through social media or by working closely with international organisations.

Look out for The SIN Lab on eBay and a new app coming soon!

Home test kits can only rule a substance in. The cannot give you a complete picture of what you have. Using multiple reagents to cross check results will improve your understanding.

Harm reduction practices should still be followed- take a test dose, wait two hours before redosing, don't use alone and tell people what you have taken, how much and when.

What else can you do to reduce the risk?

Research what you are planning to take...

Erowid

Bluelight

Ecstasyday.org

All provide great resources to search for information about the current drug market and possible adulterants in circulation. They can also help inform you about the expected effects, risky dosage levels and ways to minimise harm.

Credits:

Created with images by Tom Anderson - "[DSC00245] Drugs" • tanjila - "cocaine." • maHidoodi - "The colombian dowry" • St. Albert - "Blotter Art" • Jonathan Rolande - "Drugs" • LawPrieR - "Smile"

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