Spectrum Drug Testing is a free service offered by the QTHC through the Peer N Peer team. While we do not charge a fee for drug analysis, we gratefully accept donations to support our harm reduction services.

To support our harm reduction services, you can donate in-person during drop-in hours, or visit our online donation page:

Support Spectrum Drug Testing

We’re currently raising funds to ensure maintenance of our FTIR Spectrometer and continuation of life saving services. Visit our donation campaign here:

Community Help Needed: Help Maintain Spectrum’s FTIR Spectrometer

Setting up an appointment for in-person drug checking with Spectrum Drug Testing is easy and convenient. There is no need to call ahead — just drop in during our opening hours with a small amount of the drug(s) you would like to test. 

Our testing services at the Pride Centre of Edmonton Fridays from 3:30 - 6:50 pm, which operates on a first-come, first-served basis. 

At your appointment, you can expect to spend approximately 30 minutes with our team to get set up, run the test, and access harm reduction resources or information.

After the test is completed, we deliver the results to you in person. All results are anonymously published on our website and/or social media platforms and are stored in our informative database. Rest assured, all of our services are 100% confidential.

If you have any further questions or concerns, our team is always available to assist you.

While the 2S/LGBTQIA+ community is our primary focus,  we support anyone who wants to access our services, either at outreach events or at our office on a first-come, first-served basis.

The amount of drugs we need to test depends on the form of the substance. Most times, we are able to return most of the sample to you after the test is completed. 

• Solid drugs: Mix well and provide approximately 10mg, which is about the size of a match head. 

• Liquid substances: A few drops are sufficient, provided they are mixed well. 

• Pills: You may include either the entire pill or 10mg of the crushed pill. 

• Blotter drugs: we only require a quarter of a tab for testing purposes. 

If you have any further questions or concerns about the amount of substance we require for testing, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

We can detect and test various types of drugs, including:

• Psychedelics like MDMA and MDA

• Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine

• Opioids like heroin and fentanyl

• Others like ketamine, PCP, steroids, and pharmaceuticals like Xanax and Oxycodone

While the FTIR spectrometer is a powerful drug checking tool, it does have limitations.

One of these limitations is known as the "chocolate chip cookie effect." For this limitation, it can be helpful to think about chocolate chip cookies, and how some cookies have more chocolate chips in them than others. This relates to drug checking because we only test a very small portion of a sample (approximately the size of a grain of rice or a match stick head), and so the results may not fully represent the composition of the larger substance. This is because different parts of the sample may contain different substances or concentrations.

The second limitation of the FTIR spectrometer is that it is unable to analyze organic materials such as cannabis and mushrooms.

The third limitation of the FTIR spectrometer is that it has a detection limit of approximately 5%, which means that substances present in amounts below this threshold may not be detected. A intervention that we use to address this limitation is that we also use immunoassay testing strips as a complementary analysis tool. These strips have lower detection thresholds and can identify trace amounts of specific substances, including fentanyl, medetomidine, nitazenes, xylazine, and benzodiazepines.

Together, FTIR analysis and immunoassay testing provide a more comprehensive understanding of a sample; however, no drug checking technology can guarantee the detection of every substance present

Immunoassay test strips are a type of drug testing tool used to detect the presence of specific substances in a sample. We use these test strips to detect the presence of fentanyl, benzodiazepines, and LSD in samples that are below our 5% threshold for detection using our FTIR spectrometer.

The test strips use antibodies that are specific to the target substances. When a sample is applied to the test strip, any of the target substances that are present will bind to the antibodies, causing a visible change on the test strip. The intensity of the change corresponds to the amount of the target substance present in the sample. The test strips have a threshold for detection, which varies depending on the substance being tested.

While the test strips are not as comprehensive as the FTIR spectrometer, they offer a quick and easy way to detect the presence of certain substances that could be harmful even at low levels.

The strips cannot indicate the exact amount of the substance present in the sample, only that it is present above the threshold. 

Additionally, a positive test result does not indicate which specific analogue of the substance is present. For example, a positive fentanyl test could be due to fentanyl or a more potent analogue like carfentanil in the sample. It's important to use the test strips in conjunction with other harm reduction strategies to stay safe.

While drug checking can provide valuable information about the substances in a sample, there are also limitations to what it can tell you. For example, drug checking cannot reliably detect substances present in small amounts (less than about 5%) using FTIR. 

It also cannot provide exact percentages of what is in a sample, detect new or unknown substances not in the reference database, or reliably distinguish between substances with similar chemical make-up. Additionally, drug checking only tests a small sample and cannot determine if the whole drug intended for use is free of adulterants or contaminants due to the "chocolate chip cookie effect."

The "chocolate chip cookie effect" refers to the phenomenon where different parts of a drug sample can contain varying amounts of the substance and its adulterants or contaminants. This can occur because drugs are not uniformly mixed, leading to some parts of the sample containing higher or lower concentrations of the substance and other substances. As a result, drug checking may only be able to provide information about the small portion of the sample that is actually tested, and other parts of the sample may have different compositions.

If you find out that your drugs are laced or contain unexpected and dangerous substances, you do not have to keep them. The technician at the drug checking site can safely dispose of them for you. It is always better to prioritize your safety and well-being, and disposing of the drugs is one way to do that. It is also important to seek out support and resources if you need help managing your drug use or any related concerns.

Trained drug checking technicians receive the samples and run each drug test. At some of our partner locations, technicians work alongside trained peers who are recruited and employed by the community sites and organizations.