A Marquis Test Kit is a chemical reagent test kit that identifies drugs and other substances. These kits can be purchased online, in local stores, and at events. A reagent kit typically contains enough reagents to perform about 100 tests.
A marquis reagent is a color change reaction that can be used to presumptively identify a wide variety of alkaloids, chemicals, and other substances in the world around us. The reagent consists of a mixture of formaldehyde and concentrated sulfuric acid.
One of the oldest and most popular spot-testing agents in use today, Marquis reagent has been a staple of law enforcement testing for over 30 years. It can identify many of the most common drugs and is often recommended for several different purposes, including detecting illegal drug residue in seized merchandise, determining the presence of opiate and phenethylamine compounds, and as a general screening agent for other drugs.
Another reagent to consider when searching for the best drug testing kits is the Mandelin reagent. This alkaloid reagent can detect a wide variety of drugs including MDMA, cocaine, and amphetamines.
Unlike other reagents, Mandelin reagent will not go off color when it comes into contact with your sample. It will, however, turn cloudy over time. This is normal and will only affect a small percentage of samples.
As a result, it is not recommended to use this as your main or primary reagent for MDMA and similar compounds. Using this reagent as part of a broader multi-testing kit that also includes Simon’s A & B and Liebermann reagent is best.
The reagents above are among the most popular and effective reagents on the market today. They are easy to use and provide accurate results when used correctly. They are less prone to mistakes than other drug testing kits and can be used with various other reagents to help you
achieve the most accurate and reliable results possible.
How do Marquis Test Kits Work?
MDMA Test Kits are a drug testing kit that uses reagents to identify various substances. Unlike cheaper ‘one-hit’ tests that only check for one substance, these reagent kits can detect a wide range of psychoactive drugs and common, potentially harmful contaminants.
To use a Marquis kit, prepare a small amount of the drug or pill you want to test. This can be a single pill, a few crumbs scraped off of a pill, or a minimal amount of powder or paper (about 1/10 of a blotter). Place the drug or pill in a reagent bottle, remove the cap, and tilt the reagent bottle upside-down over the substance. The reagent will begin to react, changing color in about a minute.
Color changes are a good indicator of the presence of a particular chemical in the drug. Often, the reagent will turn black, dark brown, or blue. However, if the sample is not pure MDMA, it may change to something else.
If the reagent doesn’t change to a particular color, it is not working correctly and should be replaced. Most reagents last up to 6 months to a year from the date they were purchased, but check the packaging for expiry dates.
While most reagents will start as a clear liquid, they will gradually become darker as they age. The Mandelin reagent, for example, will turn orange and become cloudy after a few weeks in the bottle.
Once the liquid has turned darker, it is no longer usable and should be disposed of. The same goes for Mecke and Simon’s reagents, which will also darken in the bottle over time.
Another problem with commercially available pill testing kits is that they can sometimes pick up common contaminants that don’t necessarily belong in the pills you’re testing. This is a massive problem for dealers who sell drugs and people who are using them.
In the case of the Chapel Street drugs, Tim says that some of these ‘baddies’ were a cocktail of “illicit substances.” And while it’s not impossible to find some of these nasties in a random pile of pills, it is pretty easy to miss them if you are only testing for MDMA.
What is the Future of Marquis Test Kits?
Marquis Test Kits have a long and storied history as an essential tool in the fight against drug use. In the 1960s and 1970s, crime labs outfitted investigators with small plastic test tubes filled with chemical reagents that changed color when they came into contact with certain drugs.
Using these tests was convenient, imbued with scientific infallibility, and a nationwide favorite of law enforcement officers. The kits were so effective that they often served as a basis for arrests and convictions.
But over the years, chemists have grown increasingly skeptical of their reliability. For example, cocaine used to react with Marquis reagent without changing colors, but now it frequently turns green and black.
For this reason, it’s often better to perform multiple tests on a sample. Having more than one reagent in your testing kit is the best way to ensure you get accurate results every time.
The Marquis reagent can identify many substances, including MDMA, Meth, Opioids, Cocaine, and 2C-B. It can also be used to detect NBOMe, which is an LSD derivative that can have unpleasant or even dangerous effects.