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Most frequently asked questions:

• How long does it take to get results? Answer: As of May, 2012, it takes 2-3 weeks to get results after the lab receives the samples.
• Can you test LSD/Acid? Answer: No, the lab does not analyze LSD.
• How do I receive the results? Answer: All results are posted to the website.
• Can I get results by email? Answer: No, all results are posted to the website.
• How much material do you need? Answer: For tablets, we need the whole tablet. For powders, we need 20-50mg.
• Can you test my pharmaceutical tablet? Answer: Yes, the cost is $140 per sample.
• If I send in two samples, is it $40 or $80? Each pressed ecstasy tablet requires a $40 co-pay, so $80. For all other samples, the cost is $140 per sample.
• Can you tell me if my generic / Indian generic pharmaceutical is the same as the name brand? Answer: No, not really. This program is set up for providing basic analysis for controlled street drugs. You will get a list of identified drugs in the sample with ratios, just like every other result from EcstasyData / DDL. You will not get amounts/dose, nor a list of binders or inactive agents such as sugars, salts, etc. If knowing that your Internet Avodart or Tramadol contains dutasteride or tramadol is enough for you, then our testing might be useful. Again, the cost is $140 per sample.
• Can you accept any other type of payment? Answer: Sort of. The lab ONLY accepts US currency or US-current money orders. For submitters outside the US, Erowid can accept payment through our website, but there is no streamlined system for this and you will have to email us to ask how this works. If you pay via the Erowid site, this is much less anonymous.
• Will all impurities show up? Answer: No, only active chemicals will be detected and only chemicals that a GC/MS can detect will show up. Binders, chalk, and other inactive substances are removed from the sample before they get to the Mass Spectrum analyzer and will not be reported to us by the lab.
• Can I get actual quantities of the substances in my sample? Answer: No. The DEA does not allow our lab to provide that information to us. See About Tests & Data: Why don't you display actual milligram quantitative amounts?.
• Can I get the GC/MS output from the analysis? Answer: Not usually. The lab only supplies the GC/MS output for samples they cannot identify. There are no exceptions.
• Can the lab identify substance XXXXX? Answer: It depends. The simple answer is that anything the lab has previously detected and identified, then definitely yes. Other than that, it's very difficult to describe what can be detected and can't be. Fillers like simple sugars, salts, chalk and the like do not show up via GC/MS and our lab does not report them. Many new, novel substances will be found but not identified. We take all unidentified results and attempt to learn what they are, but often it takes months or years to identify these new substances.
• I'm sending my sample from Canada / Britain and I'm worried about it being stopped by customs. Answer: We receive samples each month from outside the United States and in 11 years of running this testing program, no one has reported that a sample was seized by customs. You can identify the contents of your mail as "analytical sample" or "lab sample" and use thin bubble wrap to keep the package as thin as possible. Thin envelopes are less subject to inspection than packages. Note that samples coming from Canada seem to take longer than anywhere else, we believe Canadian postal customs are very slow, so add a week (or two weeks near holidays) to the amount of time you expect it to take to get to the lab.
• How do I differentiate my sample from others that you get at the same time? Answer: You can append a 5 digit unique code to the name you write on your submission form. "G Lady 3219". We will include that unique code on the page with the results. However, we have never had two samples named the same thing from different places in a single batch, so this is more a theoretical problem than a real one. In 2012, we are hoping to implement a new submission system that will assign a unique ID, but we do not currently have the coding capacity to implement and test this.
• Why is the testing so expensive? Answer: Unfortunately, $140 is actually cheap for doing this type of testing :(. Our lab and others like it now charge $200 or more for GC/MS analysis. The lab has recently increased the cost to Erowid to $140 because of the decreasing value of the US Dollar / inflation. Erowid spent over $10,000 in direct costs we paid to the lab in 2011, *over* the amount sent in by sample submitters. DanceSafe currently underwrites part of the costs of this program, but Erowid has no other financial support for this project.
• Do you know of another lab that can do this type of testing? Answer: We do not know of any lab that will accept anonymous samples and provide analytical results. We also do not know of a general purpose solid-phase (as opposed to liquid testing, like urine or blood) analysis service. If anyone knows of a service like that, in any country, please let us know. There are systems specific to countries, in the Netherlands or in Spain via Energy Control, but we don't know of anything that can do this testing. See About Data Sources.
• Does the payment have to be in US Dollars?# Answer: Yes, because of the lab's limitations, payments MUST be in USD. Cash or money order (talk to your bank). We realize this is a huge inconvenience for people outside the US, but we have no option. If you are willing to pay through erowid (much less anonymous), an additional donation of $10 is required to cover the overhead of payment processing and getting the lab the money. Use Erowid Donations: Payment, and indicate in the notes that it is a payment for an ecstasydata tablet. We will send you back instructions. Sorry for the annoyance, we wish there were a better solution.

If you want information about sending in a sample for testing, please see the Send Tablet page. For other comments and questions, you can use this form or email us at info at ecstasydata dot org.