Promoting Health, Safety and Equity
Promoting Health, Safety and Equity
Suggested citation: Directory of North American Drug Checking Programs. Harm Reduction Innovation Lab. Accessed on 3/23/2023 at https://harmreductionlab.com/drug-checking-directory-1
UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab
Contact: Nabarun Dasgupta
Email: nab@email.unc.edu
Website: https://www.streetsafe.supply/
Services Offered: GCMS
Chicago Recovery Alliance
Contact: Taylor Wood
Email: info@anypositivechange.org
https://anypositivechange.org/
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, Reagent testing, GCMS
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off, Collection boxes, Mail based sample
submission, Outreach/staff
collection
North Carolina Survivors Union
Contact: Don Jackson
Email: donpt@urbansurvivorsunion.org
https://ncurbansurvivorunion.org
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, GCMS
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off, Outreach/staff collection
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Contact: Yarelix Estrada
Email: yestrada1@health.nyc.gov
Website: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/about-doh.page
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, GCMS, LCMS
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off, Outreach/staff collection, Through overdose prevention center
Massachusetts Drug Supply Data Stream (MADDS)
Contact: Traci Green
Email: tracigreen@brandeis.edu
Website: https://heller.brandeis.edu/opioid-policy/community-resources/madds/index.html
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, GCMS
Access, Harm Reduction, Overdose Prevention and Education (AHOPE)
Contact: Sarah Mackin
Email: Smackin@bphc.peg
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, GCMS, LCMS, BTS
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off, Outreach/staff collection
DrugsData
Contact: Sylvia Thyssen
Email: info@drugsdata.org
Website: www.DrugsData.org
Services offered: GCMS
Cal State LB and DanceSafe
Contact: Dina Perrone
Email: dina.perrone@csulb.edu
Website: https://dancesafe.org/dancesafe-national/
Services Offered: FTS, FT-IR, Reagent testing
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off
Rapid Analysis of Drugs (RAD)
Contact: Maggie Rybak
Email: margaret.rybak@maryland.gov
Services Offered: FTS, LCMS, DART-MS
Submission type: Person-to-person drop-off, Outreach/ staff collection, In person drop-off at Maryland SSPs
Outside In
Contact: Blake Joachim
Email: harmreduction@outsidein.org
Website: https://outsidein.org/health-services/needle-exchange/
Services Offered: FTS, BTS, FTIR, GCMS
Submission Type: Person-to-person drop-off, In-person drop-off
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Contact: Lee Ongais
Email: longais@sfaf.org
Services Offered: FTS, BTS, FTIR, GCMS
Submission Type: In-person drop-off
Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego ON POINT
Contact: Tara Stamos-Buesig
Email: harmreduxsd@gmail.com
Services Offered: FTS, FTIR, BTS, FTIR, Reagent testing, Xylazine test strips
Submission Type: Person-to-person drop-off, Outreach/ staff collection, Mail Based submission sample, At events/festivals
Toronto’s Drug Checking Service
Contact: Karen McDonald
Email: drugchecking@cdpe.org
Website: www.drugchecking.cdpe.org
Services Offered: GCMS, LCMS
Submission type: In-person drop-off at supervised consumption services, Outreach collection
Vancouver Coastal Health
Contact: Jeff West
Email: drugchecking@vch.ca
Website: http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/overdose-prevention-response/drug-checking
Services Offered: FTS, BTS, FTIR, Reagent testing, LSD Test Strips, GCMS, LCMS, PSMS
Submission type: In-person drop-off, Outreach collection
Get Your Drugs Tested
Contact: Angus Quinton
Email: angus@getyourdrugstested.com
Website: https://getyourdrugstested.com/
Services Offered: FTS, BTS,
FT-IR, LCMS, GCMS, NMR Spectroscopy
Submission type: In-person drop-off, Mail-based
Substance: Vancouver Island Drug Checking Project
Contact: Bruce Wallace
Email: barclay@uvic.ca
Website: https://substance.uvic.ca/
Services Offered: FTS, FTIR,
RS, PSMS
Submission type: In-person drop-off, Collection boxes, outreach collection, mail-based
Interior Health Drug Checking
Email: harmreduction.coordinator@interiorhealth.ca
Website: https://drugchecking.ca/
Services Offered: Multiple
Submission type: In-person drop-off
UVIC
Contact: Jamie Arredondo
Email: jaimeasl@uvic.ca
Services Offered: FTS
Submission type: Outreach collection
Latin America for a Sensible Drug Policy
Contact: Alejandra Garca de Loera
Email: alejandra.garcia@cide.edu
Services Offered: FTS
Submission type: In-person drop off
Drug checking can help reduce the risk of consuming drugs with unexpected or dangerous substances. Drug checking cannot detect substances that are present in small amounts, new or rare substances that are not in the assay or database, and cannot reliably distinguish between substances that are chemically similar. Drug checking cannot determine whether drugs are safe to use or not so always take precautions such as using at an overdose prevention center, having someone nearby with naloxone, and using small "test" amounts before consumption.
Drug checking can help people take action to reduce the risk of consuming drugs with unexpected or dangerous substances. Drug checking cannot detect substances that are present in small amounts, new or rare substances that are not in the assay or database and cannot reliably distinguish between substances that are chemically similar. Drug checking does not provide evidence of purity or dose and cannot determine whether drugs are safe to use. Always take precautions such as using at an overdose prevention center, having someone nearby with naloxone, and using small "test" amounts before consumption.
BTS: Benzodiazepine Test Strips
DART-MS: Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry
FT-IR: Fournier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
FTS: Fentanyl Test Strip
GCMS: Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
LCMS: Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry
NMR: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
PSMS: Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry
RS: Raman Spectroscopy
In-person drop off: Bring the sample you want tested to a program worker to have it analyzed
Collection boxes: Bring the sample to a specified location and place it in the box for it to be collected and tested
Mail-Based submission: Mail samples to the address specified by the program to be tested
Outreach collection: Bring samples to offsite locations with program workers that will collect and test samples
Click below for a more comprehensive listing of Canadian drug checking programs!
Harm Reduction Innovation Lab
1125 North Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02904, United States
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