Public Health
Drug Checking
by Mail

We are a public service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Results are now available on https://results.streetsafe.supply/

We are migrating to this page for all information, blog, newsletter.

Because life is precious

Street drugs in America right now are super variable and treacherous. Drug checking helps individuals make better decisions about their health. Knowing what’s in street drugs can help outbreak investigations and timely alerts. We also help doctors treat patients better and quicker by clueing them in to what might be causing physical harms.

Working with community

Let’s be clear: The best drug checking happens at point of care in harm reduction programs. We are proud to support with a low cost “confirmatory” lab testing. (Although we believe FTIR and GCMS are equal and tell us different things.)

If you’re interested in drug checking generally, check out the Drug Checkers Guild drop-in hours at Remedy Alliance For The People. They meet second and fourth Wednesdays 4pm EST/3pm CST/1pm PST (link to zoom).

Our mail-based paradigm also meets the needs of groups without access to drug checking equipment, and those living under antiquated laws preventing drug checking. User unions can use drug checking to answer their own questions to protect their communities. For health departments, we can turn samples around quicker than crime/tox labs during an overdose outbreak. Our model can also help universities with underutilized lab equipment get involved in harm reduction services. This video shows how it all comes together in North Carolina.

 

Our Lab

A Thermo Exactive gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) is used for analysis, housed in the Department of Chemistry at UNC. The instrument is unique in that it provides both gas chromatography separations, as well as high resolution/accurate mass measurements. This allows chemical formula confirmation of opioids, byproducts, and fillers in the samples. This platform allows for a more sensitive analysis with substance identification that is definitive. We are a full service chemistry lab with DEA authorization to handle Schedule 1-V controlled substances. However, we do not work with law enforcement.

Our lab meets all laboratory-standard certifications and is subject to mandatory inspections from regulatory agencies: DEA, NC DHHS, etc. Our chemists are required to maintain GLP training and certification. 

In the News

 

Chapel Hill

Office: Injury Prevention Research Center @ 725 MLK Jr. Blvd., CB 7505, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 USA

Laboratory: Caudill Labs @ 131 South Road on the UNC Campus

Phone
(919) 966-5725

Data Privacy

All of our data are anonymously collected and publicly available. We have no knowledge about individual people who submitted samples. No names, nothing. We use information about the samples and the card for data analysis. If you are interested in using these data for research or scientific purposes, contact us. We do not provide data to law enforcement.