Frequently Asked Questions
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Drug checking is an essential harm reduction service that enables people to know what’s really in their drugs.
With even the smallest amount of drug product, we can use multiple kinds of technologies to provide free point-of-service and laboratory-based drug checking opportunities.
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Our services are completely 100% free.
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We are located all over Los Angeles county, several times a week!
Check out our live calendar for all information on upcoming services and cancellations
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Our services are anoymous and all data that is collected is kept completely confidential.
The only information we look to collect is about the sample itself, such as what it is expected to be or if the experience was unusual.
Participants are free to decline any and all questions they would rather not answer and still receive our services.
If you’re curious about what we’ve learned about drugs in Los Angeles, check out some of our publications here.
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Yes! In California, drug checking was explicitly legalized under AB2136.
That means participants with a personal amount of drugs are legally protected when coming to or from drug checking.
It also means that our drug checking staff cannot be forced to provide police with any information. For more info, check out flyer for AB2136
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We typically say we need the size of a few grains of rice or approx 5-10 mg.
In the instance there is too little to analyze a sample in the field, we can always take a swab and send it to the lab for confirmatory testing.
The machine we use only shines a light through your drugs and does not destroy them.
Got some used test strips? Don’t throw them away! Drop them off with us for additional lab analysis.
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Usually it takes about a month for the lab to process samples. Since we are partnered with a national lab, it can sometimes take longer if the lab receives a higher volume of samples than normal.
Email checkingla@proton.me to check for results about a month after a sample is tested.
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We use a combination of FTIR and test strips in the field, and we are partnered with a lab that can do both DART-MS and LC/MS.
Click here for more information!
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We cannot analyze mushrooms, plants, or food products.
We also typically have difficulty analyzing paper or gel blotter, some liquids, and peptides.
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In 2025, our top 5 most tested substances were:
Fentanyl
Heroin
Methamphetamine
Cocaine / Crack
MDMA