
Pocket-Sized Lab's Killer App: Analyzing Illegal and Semi-Legal Drugs - Lind5
http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/pocket-sized-labs-killer-app-analyzing-illegal-and-semilegal-drugs
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darawk
It is, in my opinion, almost impossible to overstate the significance of this.
This is a huge deal. Being able to analyze the surrounding environment at a
molecular level, in a relatively cheap (it's still kind of expensive, but i'm
sure it'll get cheaper) way will enable an enormous new fleet of apps.

Being able to quickly ascertain which pesticide residue is on the fruit you're
buying _at the point of sale_ without relying on an agency or intermediary.
That's huge. Worried about counterfeit prescription drugs ordered online? Not
anymore.

There are so many interesting, valuable applications of this kind of
technology. This is really exciting.

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DKnoll
Having something like this accessible to harm reduction groups could save a
lot of lives lost due to fentanyl overdose, which is currently epidemic in
North America.

On the other hand, groups switching to this method from traditional chemical
reagent tests would basically be building evidence for the police to use
against them by creating digital records of exactly what chemicals they had in
their possession (even briefly) and when.

Legally, posession is posession, even if you're at a festival trying to save
some kid from OD.

