Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. recently introduced Thermo Scientific TruNarc, a new handheld narcotics analyzer that gives local law enforcement a significant technology edge in the war on drugs. TruNarc can replace more subjective presumptive field tests (color tests) used by law enforcement for decades. The core technology behind TruNarc – Raman spectroscopy – effectively puts a powerful laboratory analyzer in the hands of local law enforcement, providing more accurate and reliable field testing that expedites prosecution. Users of TruNarc can not only accurately test liquid and solid samples for common narcotics such as cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy), they will also be able to identify new threats, such as the synthetic cathinones found in bath salts, as the reference library in their analyzer can be quickly and easily updated to include new substances.