Testing your psilocybin — reagent tests, lab testing, and what they can and can't tell you
42 replies · Harm Reduction
With more people accessing psilocybin through unregulated markets, the question of testing becomes important. What can home reagent tests actually tell you? What do lab tests offer? And what's the irreducible uncertainty that testing can't eliminate? I want to set realistic expectations.
Reagent tests for psilocybin: Ehrlich reagent: turns purple/violet with psilocybin or tryptamines. A positive Ehrlich result tells you: there is a tryptamine compound present. It does NOT tell you which tryptamine, at what concentration, or whether other compounds are present. Marquis reagent: does NOT reliably identify psilocybin. Better for MDMA/amphetamine detection. Mecke: not specific to psilocybin. Ehrlich is the correct test for psilocybin-containing material.
What Ehrlich does and doesn't tell you: DOES: confirm presence of indole compound (psilocybin, psilocin, or other tryptamines) DOESN'T: confirm it's specifically psilocybin rather than another tryptamine, indicate potency or concentration, detect non-tryptamine adulterants that may be present alongside. A positive Ehrlich test is reassuring but not conclusive.
Lab testing (available in Oregon through Psilocybin Analytics and similar): Full HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis can identify specific compounds and measure concentrations. This is the only way to know actual psilocybin/psilocin content. Cost: $50-150 per sample. Practical for: people doing many sessions who want reliable dosing data, Oregon service center operators, research contexts.
The irreducible uncertainty: even with lab testing, mushroom potency varies batch-to-batch and even within a batch. A sample from one part of a batch may not represent the whole. Lab testing is more accurate than visual inspection or weight-based dosing, but it's not a substitute for dose titration (starting low with any new batch).
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