The only GOOD and COMPLETELY SAFE way to test pills is to use an EZ-test kit.
This is my method: Not recommended, but better than nothing at all.
-check pill reports, on dancesafe, BL, etc. to keep track of what's good
-look for pills you've heard of or you know personally to be good
-learn what E tastes like! Remember! Yeah, it's bitter, but it has a VERY distinct taste (I can taste-test for E, and I've never been wrong).
-when you get a pill, before you take it, stick out your tongue and simply place the pill on your tongue... within 4-5 seconds, you WILL feel the burn if it's real E, and the faster it burns, the stronger the pill. If it doesn't burn, get your money back.
-bite a small piece of it off and chew it up... this will be more than enough to give you the full taste of the E. If it doesn't taste like E, don't eat it. Don't just check for a bitter taste... White Stars (star-shaped) are very bitter, but they're pure DXM. E tastes like E.
-chew your pill a little when you take it... if anything seems wrong with it, don't trust it.
-If there is E in your pill, it's probably OK; the only exception I've heard is from Phreex' post that some white hearts have(some kind of opiate, I don't remember) that is active in small doses, as well as the E, but there isnt' much E in it, so it wouldn't taste like a great pill.
If you haven't done enough E to be able to test your pills like that, then don't do it. And remember, don't just take other people's word on it; if you're a BLer, you likely know a lot more about E than they do, anyway.
**disclaimer** This is NOT really a safe way to test pills, but it's how I test mine, I trust myself to be right, and I've never been wrong. As I said in the beginning, it's not an EZ-test, but it's better than nothing.
[This message has been edited by windowlicker (edited 18 May 2000).]