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(updated - 6/2/2015)
Visual Inspection
Anytime you receive a package one of the 1st things you want to do is a visual inspection: is this compound the right color? powder where you expected crystals?
If anything seems odd contact your vendor right away. Even the best vendor can mislabel. and if you expected pink crystals but got moist tan powder, your vendor can look at their inventory and see if anything looks like what you have. Most vendors are good people and will thank you for pointing to their mistake and offer to make it right. If they don't then the safe bet is to dispose of the product and search for another source, better safe than sorry!
Allergy testing
An allergy test should be way below the active level (threshold) of your compound. Take a very small amount (less than 1mg in some cases! lke the NBOMes) of the new item and split it in half, you have 2 piles. Insufflate (snort) one pile and eat the other... that's it for at least 6 hours do nothing else, and if you feel any effects you are allergic and should toss it away or offer it to some crazy psychonaut
By this point your pretty sure you have the compound you expected and your not allergic to it... please start small, aim for the threshold to see what it has and never re-dose until you are comfortable with it's effects and after effects...
Reagent Testing kit
Even though some of the RCs you use won't be on the DanceSafe identification chart, if you learn enough about how the reagents work, you can at least gain some kind of approximation of what you're working with, or rule some compounds out.
Of course, a mixture of different chemicals could throw off the results, and relying on anecdotal reports without mass spec data can be iffy, but every extra tool that helps you identify a strange powder is helpful for safety.
You can also send a sample to ailaket or wedinos to identify the substance for free. I don't like wedinos because they have messed up before (more than once), specially with very new substances.
Another option is Doctor X in the deep web, he will analyse your stuff, but you have to pay a little.
Different chemicals vary greatly in the dosage range, some you may take a lot, others are barely visible to the naked eye. It is imperative that you invest in a decent scale.
If one is not available or if the dosage is very small, dilute a know amount in an alcohol solution with a known volume in a way that you know the concentration and can then dose based on volume.
NEVER eye-ball anything, most powders can vary greatly in density, so two piles that seem the same size may actually contain a very different amount of substance. When comparing different powders it's even worse, the same volume can have widely different amounts of substance because the density is different
You NEVER know how much is any given amount of powder.You simply can't make a reasonable and accurate guess, it can be extremely dangerous with some compounds!
As you should be aware research chemicals are called that for a reason, they have nearly no previous history of human use, no one can tell you what short term or long term damage these may cause. Before using RCs remember that you are being a Guinea Pig! Which is a good reason to write a trip report.
Research the hell out of the substance before use, know symptoms of overdose, if possible try to discover what treatment was given in case of previous hospitalizations, write the name of the substance somewhere so that in case of emergency the medics know what you took.
Try to have a sitter (someone you trust!!) to take care of you if things go wrong, set up an emergency plan telling him how you want him to react.
Depending on the scope of your collection, keep drugs separated based on dose. Stuff that doses above 1g is in a different box from stuff that doses above 100mg which is in a different box from stuff that doses under 1mg and so on. While ideally you would only weigh when 100% well rested and sober, in the real world, the alphabet soup of chemicals can be easy to confuse at the best of times. If you box based on dose, your worst case scenario is taking the wrong drug instead of taking 1000x the dose of the wrong drug.
Keep a bottle of colored sprinkles for making caps. You can color code your caps to avoid the possibility of a substitution error. Color coding blotters works too, although penciling on the chem/dose is also possible.
Write down everything you do in a journal (with codes, if worried about snoopers). Ideally, a trustworthy person who understands what risks you're willing to take should have access to it. This helps keep you true to your rational intentions, and adds a layer of protection against the persuasive nature of some drugs. The moment you don't feel comfortable writing some aspect of your use in your journal is the moment you need to question what you're doing. Making a record of everything makes you aware if you are ignoring safety guidelines you're committed to (ie allergy testing, dose titrating, combinations, excessive/addictive use) Further, in the event of any complication from your experiments down the road, your experience can be accurately shared with the community.
If you are anything like me you may like the idea of the Trip Book
Of course, a mixture of different chemicals could throw off the results, and relying on anecdotal reports without mass spec data can be iffy, but every extra tool that helps you identify a strange powder is helpful for safety.
You can also send a sample to ailaket or wedinos to identify the substance for free. I don't like wedinos because they have messed up before (more than once), specially with very new substances.
Another option is Doctor X in the deep web, he will analyse your stuff, but you have to pay a little.
Measuring Dosage
Different chemicals vary greatly in the dosage range, some you may take a lot, others are barely visible to the naked eye. It is imperative that you invest in a decent scale.
If one is not available or if the dosage is very small, dilute a know amount in an alcohol solution with a known volume in a way that you know the concentration and can then dose based on volume.
NEVER eye-ball anything, most powders can vary greatly in density, so two piles that seem the same size may actually contain a very different amount of substance. When comparing different powders it's even worse, the same volume can have widely different amounts of substance because the density is different
You NEVER know how much is any given amount of powder.You simply can't make a reasonable and accurate guess, it can be extremely dangerous with some compounds!
Know the risks and prepare for the worst
As you should be aware research chemicals are called that for a reason, they have nearly no previous history of human use, no one can tell you what short term or long term damage these may cause. Before using RCs remember that you are being a Guinea Pig! Which is a good reason to write a trip report.
Research the hell out of the substance before use, know symptoms of overdose, if possible try to discover what treatment was given in case of previous hospitalizations, write the name of the substance somewhere so that in case of emergency the medics know what you took.
Try to have a sitter (someone you trust!!) to take care of you if things go wrong, set up an emergency plan telling him how you want him to react.
Storage
Depending on the scope of your collection, keep drugs separated based on dose. Stuff that doses above 1g is in a different box from stuff that doses above 100mg which is in a different box from stuff that doses under 1mg and so on. While ideally you would only weigh when 100% well rested and sober, in the real world, the alphabet soup of chemicals can be easy to confuse at the best of times. If you box based on dose, your worst case scenario is taking the wrong drug instead of taking 1000x the dose of the wrong drug.
Keep a bottle of colored sprinkles for making caps. You can color code your caps to avoid the possibility of a substitution error. Color coding blotters works too, although penciling on the chem/dose is also possible.
Taking Notes
Write down everything you do in a journal (with codes, if worried about snoopers). Ideally, a trustworthy person who understands what risks you're willing to take should have access to it. This helps keep you true to your rational intentions, and adds a layer of protection against the persuasive nature of some drugs. The moment you don't feel comfortable writing some aspect of your use in your journal is the moment you need to question what you're doing. Making a record of everything makes you aware if you are ignoring safety guidelines you're committed to (ie allergy testing, dose titrating, combinations, excessive/addictive use) Further, in the event of any complication from your experiments down the road, your experience can be accurately shared with the community.
If you are anything like me you may like the idea of the Trip Book
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