Kevin Peyraud-Vicre is not a festival-goer, he is a chemist at CEID Addictions and spent the four days of the festival sitting behind…
Kevin Peyraud-Vicre is not a festival-goer, he is a chemist at CEID Addictions and spent the four days of the festival sitting behind the stand of Test-it, a laboratory that analyzes drugs with a view to reducing risks.
Meticulously, he deposits a piece of the seal, and analyzes it using an infrared spectrometer. A simple and fast technique, which consists of passing a beam of infrared light through the sample. It gives almost immediate results. On his computer, the chemist distinguishes the main components of the ecstasy tablet and determines whether it is more or less pure or whether it has been cut and presents a health risk.
Risk reduction
“The tablets can have the same color, the same logo and yet absolutely not have the same content”, assures Aurélie Lazes Charmetant, project manager at CEID Addictions. Since March 2020, when Test-it was created, she has been managing the laboratory. In addition to a presence at certain events such as Garorock, the committee is on duty every Thursday evening from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the CEID premises at 24 rue du Parlement-Saint-Pierre in Bordeaux. “Or by appointment,” says the project manager.
The Test-it laboratory analyzes drugs using an infrared spectrometer.
Edouard Ampuy
“Drugs are massively consumed products without anyone ever knowing what they contain. Whether crystal, powder or liquid, users have no way of knowing the molecules on their own. “Why not let it be known? To give decision-making power to the consumer. Levamisole, caffeine, noscapine, the products used to cut are legion, an analysis can avoid complications following drug taking, or even avoid overdose.
The infrared spectrometer passes a beam of infrared light through the sample to determine its main components. Edouard Ampuy
During the Test-it permanence, the chemist doubles the analyzes using thin layer chromatography. A technique more reliable than that of infrared analysis, but which takes regarding twenty minutes. A time that the team uses to discuss, as part of a risk reduction approach. At the CEID premises, users are not stigmatized, no moral judgment is made on their practices or consumption. “We distribute clean equipment, we give them advice, we send them to organizations that can help them if necessary. »
