Field Drug Testing Cons

Access to onsite field drug tests can be a valuable tool for U.S law enforcement officers in identifying possible illegal drug substances when conducting traffic stops and investigating suspicious activity. The use of the field drug tests can assist in determining drugs and can provide probable cause arrest for drugs offenses and other crimes. However, in The York Times article by Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders; How a $2 Roadside Drug Test Sends Innocent People to Jail, and other related articles illustrate how these affordable and portable drug test kits have a probability of yielding false positives. (Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders. 2016) Even the most benign substance such as Krispy Kreme donuts, hand lotion, soap, and over the
(U.S Department of Justice.2013) Field drug testing performed by law enforcement officers are often poorly trained and rely on chemical field tests based on color based indicating positive results or negative results; which can be effect by procedure method, environments, and other influences. (Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders. 2016) Field Tests made by companies like Lynn Peavey, The Safariland Group, and Sirchie often don’t provide information to officers regarding false positives, and as like chemical compounds like the cobalt thiocyanate in Albritton cases can react to up to 80 other compounds, as described as early 1979 by S. H. Johns, A. A. Wist, M. S. ; and A. R. Najam. in Spot Tests: A Color Chart Reference for Forensic Chemists (Johns et al.
(Rene Stutzman. July 2016) In reality, the substance that tested positive for meth using a The Safariland Group field drug test was crumbs from a Krispy Kreme donut. ( Christal Hayes. October 2016) Household products and everyday products have been known to test positive for illegal drugs, like when in musician Don Bolle’s who Dr. Bonner Magic Soap tested positive for GHB in Newport, California in 2007, when New Yorker Alexander J. Bernstein’s bar soap tested positive for cocaine, and other cases. The suggested implications can found regarding the false positives and possibility of false interpretation of field drugs test can impede the justice process due to the high likelihood of suspects pleading guilty or receiving a plea bargain in conjunction with an average of 62.3% on laboratory sample aren’t tested. (U.S Department of Justice. 2013) Since most federal, and state law enforcement doesn't process evidence after plea bargains; the possibility of suspects who never had drugs yet pled guilty to drug possession charge; may carry a felony with little to no possibility of expungement and the effects of having a criminal record to their