Accurately identifying substances is the cornerstone of making use as safe as possible
What is a reagent?
Reagents are chemicals that turn certain colours when they come into contact with certain drugs. Reagents cannot detect every drug, nor can they tell you how pure or potent your drugs are. Even if you get the expected colour reactions for the drug you want, there could still be one or more other drugs present. This is because:
- Not all drugs change colour with reagents.
- Darker colours may overshadow lighter colours.
- A very tiny quantity of a drug may not produce a visible colour change.
Despite these limitations, reagent testing is useful for determining whether your sample definitely does not contain the drug you want.
- Detect the presence of certain drugs
- Give you information about whether a drug is suspicious
- Inform your decision about whether or not to consume a drug (“informed consent”)
- Tell you how potent your drugs are
- Tell you if your drugs are pure
- Confirm exactly what is in your drugs
How to use reagents
1. Place a tiny amount of your drug onto a white, ceramic plate.
- Make it about the size of a pinhead. We will refer to this as the “sample” of your drug.
- For pressed pills, use a sharp knife to scrape the powder off the side.
- For blotter paper, cut off a tiny piece of the corner.
- For liquid drugs, place one drop onto the plate.
2. Carefully place one drop of reagent onto the sample.
- Do not let the bottle or pipette touch the sample or you will contaminate the entire bottle of reagent.
3. Observe the colour change and compare with the colour chart:
4. Repeat.
- Most drugs need to be tested with more than one reagent to be absolutely sure.
5. Clean up.
- Use baking soda to neutralize the chemicals (they’re extremely acidic), then wash the plate with soap and water.
