# Identifying heroin (or another drug) by taste. Possible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720 "2012-03-04T12:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/21 "2012-03-04T22:41:13Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Except in rush jobs for life-and-death matters, I think it normally takes a lot longer than 20 minutes for forensic lab reports to arrive. The cops are probably looking at a wait on the order of days, weeks, or even months. Twenty minutes probably isn’t even enough time for the cops themselves to write up and submit the lab request and evidence. Obligatory XKCD link : [xkcd: Science Montage](http://xkcd.com/683/) ---
**Author:** ![PlanetCharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@PlanetCharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanetCharlie)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/22 "2012-03-06T18:41:52Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Pure heroin should be odourless. Any vinegar smell comes from impurities introduced through the acteylation reaction in its manufacture. _Should be_, yes, however we all know that theory and actuality are not always the same. A complete, perfect, 100% yielding reaction would leave no acetic anhydride or acetic acid, as it would all be bound to the 3- and 6- sites of the morphine (the hydroxyl groups). But this is rarely the case, I don’t know about you but I never got fresh, 100% pure, heroin. I say fresh because heroin will degrade into morphine and acetic acid in the presence of water, even water vapor. So heroin on the “real world,” never in ideal conditions and often not done by professional chemists will either have the acetic acid smell as a byproduct, or more likely, and harder to avoid, over time it gives off more and more of a vinegar scent. (Just like aspirin… pop open an old bottle of it and see how much its decomposed, giving off a vinegar scent). I say this both as a student of chemistry, and a former user of heroin. It always smelled like vinegar to some extent, some more than others. Powder heroin is usually more pure, as further steps are taken to do so, and for this reason it isn’t as vinegar-smelling as black tar heroin (what I’m most used to, here in California). Black tar, made in Mexico, by what I will assume are non PhD-holding chemists, and undergoing less purification than say South American/Golden Triangle/etc heroin, has always smelled (and tasted) like vinegar. Acrid and disgusting, but like vinegar (acetic acid). I always read SD on my phone when I have a spare minute or two, so its hard for me to post up a proper reply, I hope this does for now but I’ll be back later to see if anyone has anything to dispute or to add their own experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/23 "2012-03-06T21:06:18Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > The general problem of identifying an unknown powder is very stupid to solve by taste. This seems like common sense. But don’t people in the illegal drug trade sometimes do taste tests when buying a load from the wholesaler or smuggler? When working undercover, do LEOs sometimes have to do the same thing to appear authentic to the dealers? I don’t have a nonfictional cite, but from an [Upton Sinclair novel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wet_Parade) it appears that Prohibition agents did drink the product, sometimes even to the point of significant intoxication, in the course their investigations and evidence gathering. (Link to a Wikipedia stub article on the film adaptation.) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/24 "2012-03-06T21:07:46Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Bags full of white powdery stuff= probable cause. Probable cause for an arrest for possession of? heroin/cocaine/sugar/flour/baking soda? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/25 "2012-03-06T21:23:30Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Probable cause for an arrest for possession of? > > heroin/cocaine/sugar/flour/baking soda? Controlled substances. You’re making this harder than it really is. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/26 "2012-03-06T21:31:57Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Controlled substances. > > You’re making this harder than it really is. Flour is a controlled substance? “Your Honor, we found a 5lb. bag of a white, powdery substance in the Defendant’s kitchen!” I’m only being slightly obtuse, but surely you need a specific charge to hold someone. Isn’t there a quick and dirty field test that is “good enough” for PC? Surely a suspect can’t be held for months until the lab finds out he was doing his kid’s science project.. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/27 "2012-03-06T22:27:58Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Flour is a controlled substance? “Your Honor, we found a 5lb. bag of a white, powdery substance in the Defendant’s kitchen!” > > I’m only being slightly obtuse, but surely you need a specific charge to hold someone. Isn’t there a quick and dirty field test that is “good enough” for PC? > > Surely a suspect can’t be held for months until the lab finds out he was doing his kid’s science project.. It comes down to probable cause. As **Loach** said, they probably already have plenty of evidence leading them to believe it is a controlled substance. No one is being convicted based on this, but it is plenty to make an arrest. There are possibly some people who are freed when it turns out to be flour, but I bet the number is dwindlingly small And yes, a field test can return a result faster than a month. I don’t know how fast those are, but I’m sure others can chime in on that. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/28 "2012-03-10T00:14:16Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Surely a suspect can’t be held for months until the lab finds out he was doing his kid’s science project.. As long as Due Process and the federal constitution are followed, yes, they can be held. The 4th AM is silent on what is necessary to arrest, that is, probable cause, it only concerns search warrants, but the SC has ruled the 4th AM’s search warrant requirement to apply to arrest warrants and arrests without warrants. IF arrested without a warrant, a probable cause hearing and or arraignment must take place within 48 hours from arrest, weekends are not a slip by either. This is to have a neutral magistrate review the PC to see if it indeed still exists from the time of arrest. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/29 "2012-03-10T00:28:50Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I’m only being slightly obtuse, but surely you need a specific charge to hold someone. Isn’t there a quick and dirty field test that is “good enough” for PC? There is, but I have no idea how much they’re used. My information comes from cheesy TV shows. [NarcoPouch](http://www.bvda.com/EN/sect9/en_9_3a.html). ---
**Author:** ![JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JESS-A-MA-KESS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/30 "2013-06-02T10:14:39Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I’ve seen it a hundred times on cop shows and in the movies. Our hero finds a stash of white powder, dips his finger in and tastes it. “100% pure unadulterated heroin!” (That one is a direct quote from the David Janssen TV movie _Warning Shot_). > > Am I right to be highly suspicious of this? I’ve known TV to lie to me before. 🙂 Heroin does have a taste but I can’t explain it completely different from coke, a little bitter with a hint of vinegar and that’s also what it smells like. It also has a different look and consistency. ---
**Author:** ![JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JESS-A-MA-KESS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/31 "2013-06-02T10:24:01Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Flour is a controlled substance? “Your Honor, we found a 5lb. bag of a white, powdery substance in the Defendant’s kitchen!” > > I’m only being slightly obtuse, but surely you need a specific charge to hold someone. Isn’t there a quick and dirty field test that is “good enough” for PC? > > Surely a suspect can’t be held for months until the lab finds out he was doing his kid’s science project.. Yeah they have a field test for on the scene so they can prove you have something illegal and so they can know what to charge you with. I can’t get arrested for having a bag of flour in my purse and the cops just saying they think its drugs but aren’t sure but are arresting me anyway until they get lab results back. That’s why they do the field test on the scene even able to test for residue and they then can charge and arrest you for a positive test result. Plus they have to know what it is because different drugs carry different sentences and bonds. But then they usually send to the lab to get verification and proof it is what they thought it was. Then said person can either take it to trial if they didn’t do it or there isn’t enough evidence against them to prove without a reasonable doubt they are guilty or they can take a plea deal and depending on their priors and if they are on papers then they can get on probation , go through a Pretrial diversion program, get mandated to rehab or go to prison. Oh but some felony charges take a long time to even get indicted so it could be a year before court so obviously it’s ideal to bond out before court. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/32 "2013-06-02T11:12:22Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > And yes, a field test can return a result faster than a month. I don’t know how fast those are, but I’m sure others can chime in on that. Very quick. I use to get results back in less than thirty minutes. Unlike this response, which took fifteen months. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/33 "2013-06-02T12:06:29Z")
I knew\* a guy who was arrested and his cold and flu tablets seized. His actions at the time weren’t exactly the most innocent looking (like he was trying to sell drugs, on a Friday night, on a street in the middle of London) and we all (a group of around 8 young guys) were individually questioned (but not searched) by the uniformed and plain clothed police. He was taken away in one of the police vans and released later that night. Obviously the charges were subsequently dropped. \*but not for much longer ---
**Author:** ![grizclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3be4f8/32.png) [@grizclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grizclaw)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/34 "2013-07-06T11:27:30Z")
Opium, smoked in a pipe, tastes distinctly like a field of very fragrant flowers. Sweet to the point of cloying. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720/35 "2013-07-06T12:26:51Z")
Sometimes I feel the ocean in my blood See rain from the sky above Her salt brined tears And now Those tears leave taste on my tongue Like the warm rush you get from Black opium Black opium Oops-you mean this isn’t the song lyrics thread? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identifying-heroin-or-another-drug-by-taste-possible/614720.md?page=1)