About the project DrugsInfoSite

The Drugs Info Site project, carried out in cooperation with the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague and the 3rd Faculty of Medicine at Charles University, focuses on minimizing risks associated with psychoactive substance use (harm reduction). It offers a drug checking service—a professional chemical analysis of psychoactive substances that provides users with information regarding their content, purity, and potential hazards. This helps users make more informed decisions, contributing to the prevention of severe health complications. The project was approved by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic under the New Psychoactive Substances program (NPS info, Reg. No. AA-07-20).

The need for this service stems from the dynamically evolving situation on the drug scene. The European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) currently monitors over a thousand different new psychoactive substances (NPS), with dozens of new compounds added each year. NPS are substances of synthetic origin that appear on the market as alternatives to traditional drugs whose effects they mimic. They are synthesized to bypass legal regulations and are presented as legal substitutes for traditional drugs; however, their effects are often insufficiently researched and pose serious health risks. Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl derivatives, pose a particularly significant threat due to their high toxicity and overdose potential. Through active data collection and effective international cooperation, the Drugs Info Site project can provide early warnings about high-risk substances appearing on the market, monitor the prevalence of new psychoactive substances, and contribute to public health awareness and protection in the Czech Republic and across Europe.

Those interested can use the drug checking service completely anonymously and free of charge through several methods. One option is collection drop-boxes located at the offices of Progressive o.p.s. or in the mobile clinics of Drop In and Sananim. When using the collection boxes, processing the sample and delivering the analysis result to the client takes approximately 14 business days. Another option is on-site sample analysis. This service is available, for example, at the regular Harm Less Nights event held once a month on Žitná Street in Prague in cooperation with Progressive's Party Harm Reduction team, as well as at selected music festivals and indoor events. Here, in most cases, the analysis result is available to the client within 30 minutes.

The analysis results are accessible using a unique eight-digit code provided to each person submitting a sample after they complete an anonymous questionnaire regarding the substance. This system ensures secure and anonymous access to vital information about substance composition and possible health risks.

We accept both traditional psychoactive substances (MDMA, cocaine, ketamine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, heroin, LSD, benzodiazepines) and new psychoactive substances in the form of powders, crystals, pills, blotters, and liquids. These include substances from the classes of synthetic cathinones (e.g., 4-MMC, 3-MMC, 3-CMC, NEP), dissociative anesthetics (e.g., PCP, PCPy, MXE), synthetic cannabinoids (e.g., MDMB-PINACA, JWH-018, AB-FUBINACA), phenethylamines (e.g., 2C-B, NBOMe), tryptamines (e.g., DMT, 4-HO-MET), LSD derivatives (e.g., 1P-LSD, 1CP-LSD), synthetic opioids (e.g., fentanyl, carfentanil), and GHB/GBL. Conversely, we DO NOT analyze samples of kratom, mushrooms, food, dietary supplements, performance-enhancing substances, or anabolic steroids.

As part of our drug checking process, we utilize a combination of portable and laboratory analytical techniques. Portable NIR spectroscopy (NIRLIGHT), operating in the near-infrared spectrum, and the portable TruNarc device (Thermo Fisher Scientific), based on Raman spectroscopy, are used for rapid field identification. For detailed analysis, we employ the laboratory analytical technique UHPLC-HRMS/MS using an Orbitrap Exploris 120 system (Thermo Fisher Scientific).