Pure drugs may sometimes be dangerous but adulterated or ‘mis-sold’ drugs (where the drug you receive isn’t the drug you intended to buy) are even more so. At least if you can confirm what drug you have, you can make sure you follow harm reduction practices that will help keep you safe.

There are three basic forms of drugs testing:

• Reagent testing
• Strip testing
• Forensic testing

Reagent Testing

Reagent testing is also called spot or colorimetric tests. Essentially reagent testing creates a chemical interaction which identifies the presence of certain substances contained in the sample based on color changes/codes. Originally used in the rave scene by Dancesafe to test for ecstasy at raves, reagent tests are available on the internet and test for a variety of substances with results available in 30 seconds.

Strip Testing

All test strips are an off-label uses of drug testing equipment. These test strips test a tiny amount of drugs for the presence of one. Even the residue in baggies is sufficient for test strips to tell if the drug is present. Fentanyl strips are the most commonly available ones at harm reduction programs though strips that test for benzodiazepines are increasingly available.

Forensic Testing

Normally used in criminal investigation forensic testing describes a variety of chemically sensitive tests that identify drugs and other chemicals used in crimes. Forensic testing includes ion mobility spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and, the gold standard mass spectrometry. Of these mass spectrometry and raman spectroscopy show the most promise for harm reduction programs.