1. A method for detecting a material comprising the steps of: targeting the material for analysis; heating the material with a heating source from a remote distance to effectively increase a temperature of the material and to effectively increase a vapor pressure of the material in an environment adjacent to the material; measuring with a separate laser based active sensor a material vapor in the adjacent environment from the remote distance, wherein the laser based active sensor can measure the material vapor during daylight and at night; and, detecting the identity of the material using data generated during the measuring step.