At a dance festival, 166 drug samples—90 tablets, 53 powders, 16 crystals, and 7 liquids—were tested on-site using Raman and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Raman identified powders and crystals with high sensitivity (100% and 81%), but performed poorly on liquids (67%) and ecstasy-like tablets (41%). FT-IR achieved sensitivities above 95% across all forms. On-site MDMA doses in tablets ranged from 52 mg to 336 mg hydrochloride. Combining both techniques is recommended for rapid on-site drug identification, but optimized settings, in-house libraries, and trained operators are essential for accurate results.
Portable near-infrared (NIR) and Fourier-transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, combined with chemometric modeling, can reliably estimate the MDMA dose in seized tablets. When tested on 98 tablets, NIR achieved an R² of 0.64 (indirect contact, intact tablets) and 0.87 (direct contact, homogenized tablets) with RMSEP values of 8.0 and 5.9, respectively; FT-IR achieved an R² of 0.84 with an RMSEP of 5.4, compared to reference gas chromatography results. Both techniques are suitable for rapid on-site application, but dose estimation alone does not address all health risks—low-dosed substances, combinations with other drugs, and alcohol also matter, so laboratory analysis remains essential for comprehensive safety assessment.