Reagent testing at home to check for cathinones

Posted byRhiannonPosted inHarm Reduction infoTags:, , ,

We’re absolutely flat out this summer, and unfortunately we can’t be everywhere. People that want to check their gear but can’t get to one of our testing sites have been using at home reagent tests to check for cathinones with some success. The main tests that people are using this summer are the EZ tests available from Cosmic.

While this can’t tell you if you’ve had your MDMA spiked, it will tell you if you’ve been sold a cathinone instead of MDMA. We have been hearing from lots of people this summer who bought from a trusted source but were smart enough to get it tested, either by us or with one of these at home tests. Then it turned out to be a cathinone and they binned it, because the slight up really isn’t worth the hellish down.

Warning! Reagent tests can only show the presence of one chemical.

They will not show cathinones if the drug manufacturer has masked them with a trace amount of MDMA. Even if your reagent test is positive for MDMA you should treat it with caution as it may be a mix of MDMA and cathinones.

That being said, reagent tests are better than nothing, and will show you if what you have is just cathinones instead of MDMA.
Most of what we have tested this summer has been just cathinones, not mixtures, so we are confident recommending that you should use these tests if you can’t get to KnowYourStuffNZ to use our FTIR spectrometer.

How the reagent tests work

Each test comes with an ampoule of testing reagent. Simply open the ampoule, drop in a small sample about the size of a couple of grains of salt or the head of a pin, and read the colour chart. Be careful with the reagent. they are corrosive and can burn your skin if the liquid touches you.

EZ Ecstasy test

The ecstasy test will show you if you have MDMA in your or if it contains only cathinones, Unfortunately it can’t tell you if there’s anything else mixed in your MDMA.

Image, an EZ Ecstasy test showing a positive result for MDMA. The reagent has gone a strong purple-black.
This is what a positive ecstasy test looks like. See how dark it is? What you want is a reaction that gives a strong purple black. What you do not want is a yellow reaction. It may go darker orange over time, but if it goes yellow first, it’s a cathinone. Remember, if it’s yellow, it ain’t mellow.
Image of a EZ Ecstasy test with cathinone. The reagent has gone bright yellow.
The test says methylone/butylone, but the reaction will be the same for eutylone, and most other cathinones. Note that reagent tests will give the same result for a 90% cathinone/10% mdma mix as it would for pure mdma so it is far from a guarantee because were also seeing a lot of those mixes.

The test says methylone/butylone, but the reaction will be the same for eutylone, and most other cathinones. Note that reagent tests will give the same result for a 90% cathinone/10% mdma mix as it would for pure mdma so it is far from a guarantee because were also seeing a lot of those mixes.

EZ MDMA purity test

The MDMA purity test shows how much MDMA is in a substance. It’s good for checking if you have a high dose pill or if your MDMA is actually a cathinone. It won’t show you if there’s anything else hiding in your substance.If your mdma is actually just cathinones. It won’t show you if there’s anything else hiding in your substance, or if it contains BOTH MDMA and cathinones

Image of the EZ MDMA Purity test. The reagent has gone pale brown at the top, showing a medium amount of MDMA in the substance tested
If you have MDMA the top layer of the reagent will change colour depending on how much MDMA there is. If there’s lots, it’ll go super dark. This picture shows a medium-strength positive reaction. If any other layers appear, any unexpected colour changes, or things don’t quite dissolve right, there is likely other unknown substances in your sample.
Image of a cathinone sample in the EZ MDMA Purity test. The reagent hasn't changed colour at all.
This is a cathinone in an MDMA purity test. As you can see, there’s been no reaction at all. If it’s clear, you can clearly bin it.

If you’re not sure about your reagent result, do not take your substance.

We’d rather you didn’t play Russian roulette with your drugs this summer. The chances of you having eutylone or a eutylone/MDMA mix is way too high, and we’re pretty sure you don’t want to spend the next few days vomiting and freaking out. Better to be safe than sorry.

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  1. Pingback: High levels of eutylone substitition found in O week testing in South Island - Know Your Stuff NZ

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