Here are some answers to common questions.
QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SERVICE
Q: Do you require personal information? Can I be anonymous?
A: We do not keep any personal information or documents. Please refer to our anonymity page for full details!
Q: Does it cost anything?
A: Our service is completely free, although, we do happily accept donations.
Q: Are you funded by the government? Do you work for the government? Are you a health authority program?
A: We are privately funded and operated by The Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary. We are not government affiliated but are provided amnesty as an overdose prevention service.
Q: How long does a test take?
A: It takes about 15 minutes per test. If your sample is straightforward, it will take less time. If your sample is more complex, it will take more time.
Q: What is a good time to test?
A: Since we are first come first served, it can be hard to predict when we’re going to be busy. It does seem, however, that we are not as busy before 5pm. We are also not as busy from Sunday to Thursday. We do not recommend coming at 7:30pm as we will likely not be able to test your sample before closing.
Q: How many samples can I test?
A: We do not enforce a limit on the number of samples you can submit. Each sample takes 10-15 minutes to test. Therefore, when you submit a lot of samples at once it does tie up our testing capacity for the day. There may be a delay for large amounts of samples submitted at once since they must be completed together. In these cases, we remind you that we happily accept donations for our services.
QUESTIONS ABOUT DRUG CHECKING
Q: Can you test for purity? Are you able to tell me the purity of my cocaine?
A: FTIR cannot test for purity. It does not separate compounds like gas chromatography/high powered liquid chromatography. It does not measure the precise amount of each substance detected. Therefore, percentages provided do not indicate purity.
Q: You provide purity percentages right? 80%, that’s pretty pure eh? Whats the percent purity?
A: The percentages we provide are estimated by the software. The program uses math algorithms to roughly estimate how much of each substance is present in a mixture. Our technicians also use their experience to assign a range to each component. The resulting percentage ranges attempt to provide you with a rough idea of the makeup of your sample.
Q: Can you tell me if there is anything poisonous in my drugs?
A: While we will attempt to identify as many components as possible in your substance, we cannot guarantee that everything will be detected. Our machine has a detection limit of 5%. Any substance present below that detection limit may not be detected. Those substances could be toxic, harmful and cause unexpected results.
Q: Can you test my weed/mushrooms/salvia? Can you test my THC gummies/brownies?
A: Since FTIR does not separate each component like gas chromatography/high powered liquid chromatography, we are unable to test complex mixtures. Organic material contains hundreds of substances. Baked goods also contain many components. The more components that are present, the harder it is to precisely identify whats in your sample.
Q: What does uncertain match mean? What does no library match mean.
A: We use uncertain match when we’re able to detect a substance, however, we are not able to reliably say what it is. This could happen when a substance is present at very small amounts and we’re not certain what it is. We use no library match when we’re not able to match your sample to any of our reference spectra.
Q: I tested my Xanax/pills, how come all you found was microcrystalline cellulose and oil?
A: Pills, along with liquid samples are often dosed at very low amounts. Therefore, the active ingredient usually falls below our 5% detection limit and we’re unable to detect it.
Q: Can you tell me if my pills are real?
A: There is no way we can tell you if your pills are real or not. Exact pharmaceutical formulations for pills are not readily available for comparison. We can simply test them and tell you what we’re able to find.
OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS
Q: Can I get a print out of my results/spectra?
A: While we do not provide a print out of your results, we will happily write them down on a results card for you.
Q: Why did I not get an email with my results?
A: Often our emails get sent to the spam/junk folder. Please check there first to see if you’ve gotten our email. If we cannot read the email you provided or it is incorrect, you will not receive an email. If you do not receive your results you should contact us.
Q: My workplace requires me to get a urine drug test, can you do this? Can you test my hair for drugs?
A: We are unable to test urine or other biological samples. You should visit your doctor to requisition these tests or there are private options available.