How can I get my drugs tested?

Get Your Drugs Tested is a free drug checking service provided by The Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary and The Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary. We analyze street drug samples in person at our Vancouver storefront and by mail.

We use a special machine called an FTIR spectrometer to analyze samples, as well as immunoassay test strips to detect for potent substances like fentanyl, benzodiazepines and LSD.

In-person testing is first come, first served and usually takes 10–15 minutes, though wait times may vary.

Results can be provided in person, by email, over the phone, or anonymously by code word via our public online database, which hosts the world’s largest archive of drug checking results.

To test by mail, you will need to email us at [email protected] for our mailing information. Click here for more instructions on how to test by mail.

To test in person, samples can be dropped off from Wednesday to Monday at 880 East Hastings between 12 PM and 8 PM, and from Tuesday to Friday at 245 West Broadway between 11 AM and 7 PM. We do not charge a fee for drug analysis but happily accept donations. Click here for more instructions on how to test in person.

Minimum Sample Amount to Send:

  • Solid: 10mg (about the size of a match head, well-mixed)
  • Liquid: 1-2 mL (well-mixed) in SEALED locking container, ziplock bag is NOT acceptable (ie twist lid)
  • Pill: Ideally the whole pill or 10mg of crushed pill for best results, minimum half
  • Blotter: Quarter of a tab.

Note: We cannot analyze used supplies, food products, plant matter or other organic samples (including cannabis and mushrooms.)

Be aware that testing your drugs does not guarantee that a drug is safe to use. The FTIR and test strips may not be able to detect all unexpected or dangerous substances! 

Click here for important information on the limitations of FTIR and test strips, and how to interpret test results.

 

The kind of drugs we can detect and test with the FTIR:

  • Psychedelics like MDMA, MDA, 2C-B
  • Stimulants like methamphetamine, cocaine, cathinones
  • Opioids like heroin and fentanyl
  • Others like ketamine, PCP, some steroids
  • Pharmaceuticals like Viagra, Xanax and Oxycodone (we must crush your pill to test it)

The kind of samples we cannot analyze with the FTIR:

  • Organic samples like cannabis, mushrooms, kratom, peyote or satvia
  • Drugs in foods like candies or brownies
  • Drugs that are mixed at concentrations below 5% of the sample (ex: the active ingredient is below 5mg in a 100mg pill)
  • Drugs that are active at extremely low levels, such as LSD.
  • Most liquid samples (we can test GHB or similar)
  • Used consumption supplies of any kind

Note: If you’re looking to test for a specific substance, feel free to email us at [email protected] first to confirm if we have a reference for it in our database. If we don’t have a reference, we won’t be able to confirm the presence of that active ingredient — but we can still check for unexpected or harmful substances in your sample.

What the FTIR test cannot do:

  • Our machine is does not separate each individual component and measure their amounts. Any percentages given are estimates based off the visible ingredients via FTIR spectrometer.
  • We cannot test organic matter. Plants or mushrooms are complex mixtures of many substances. They appear as carbohydrates and oil on our machine.
  • We will not test blotters on our machine, ex: LSD. They appear as cellulose/paper. We will use a lysergamide test strip on these samples.
  • The machine usually cannot reliably identify substances mixed in liquid, ex: steroids in oil. Often, the concentration of your drug in the liquid is below our 5% detection limit.
  • We are unable to guarantee that all parts of the sample are the same throughout. However, we will do our best by thoroughly mixing each sample we receive.
  • We cannot identify new or rare substances not in our reference library.
  • We may not be able reliably distinguish between substances that have very similar structures (analogues or isomers).
  • While we can tell you what’s in it, we cannot tell whether your pharmaceutical is real or not.

Immunoassay Test Strips

We use test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl, benzodiazapenes and LSD.

These are an easy and fast way of detecting potent substances present below our 5% threshold that could still effect you. When the target substance is present above the strip’s threshold it will register as a positive result.

The 3 test strips we use and their thresholds

Fentanyl: 20ng/mL

Lysergamide: 50ng/mL

Benzodiazepine: 300ng/mL

What test strips cannot do:

  • They do not indicate how much of the substance is present, we say it is less than 5% but it could be as low as 0.01%.
  • They do not indicate what analogue is present, ex: a positive fentanyl test could be due to fentanyl or a more potent analogue like carfentanil in the sample.

Click here for more information on the limitations of FTIR and test strips and how to interpret test results.

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