During the COVID-19 pandemic, online trade in psychoactive substances via Telegram in the Netherlands shifted: stimulant-related posts (ecstasy, cocaine, amphetamine) decreased during the spring 2020 lockdown, while posts about psychedelics (ketamine, LSD, 2C-B) and other substances increased and remained higher afterward. Of 70,226 posts in two Telegram groups from December 2019 to June 2020, 5,643 were substance-related, and only 6.3% were requests, indicating a sellers' market.
Drug checking reduces acute harm from misrepresented classic psychedelics by identifying adulterants and unknown potencies. Gas chromatography and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry provide the most reliable analysis but are costly and stationary. Combined presumptive tests like thin-layer chromatography and reagent testing offer time-efficient initial screening. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy is a valuable complement, though potent psychedelics on blotter paper or in diluted solution and complex botanical matrices challenge its detection limit, requiring multiple methods to confirm results. Drug checking's consultative component clarifies analytical constraints, promotes safer use practices, and offers health service referrals, protecting individual users and informing public health efforts.