Are Field Drug Tests Reliable? College Football Quarterback’s Wrongful Arrest Shows They Are Not
When the police find substances that they think may be drugs, they often perform field tests on the drug to verify if it is a controlled substance or not. The tests are not admissible in court. They are only meant to aid the officer in making decisions about arrest, charging, and collection of evidence.
Reliability of Tests
The reliability of the tests is not very good. The most comprehensive study on field drug tests show that they produce false positives between 15% and 38% of the time. That means that up to one out of three tests could be falsely implicating someone. But is it that big of a deal? It’s just a field test. A later lab test could clear things up.
Quarterback Arrested for… Bird Poop
The arrest of Shai Werts, Georgia Southern’s starting quarterback, shows how it negatively impacts people who have these inaccurate field tests used on them. Mr. Werts was stopped for using his high beams on. An officer noticed a white substance on the hood of the car and thought it suspicious. He used a field drug test that showed a positive for cocaine. Mr. Werts was indignant. He told the officer that it was bird poop. The officer didn’t care. The field test was positive for cocaine, and that was that. Mr. Werts was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance. It was not until later that he was cleared. But there is no getting back the night he spent in jail or the humiliation of being arrested for something he didn’t do.
What To Do if You Are Charged with a Drug Crime
All in all, Shai Werts was lucky because he was cleared of the crime relatively quickly. Others never find out because it is common for controlled substances to not be tested until after a defendant has demanded a trial. That creates a big problem in a criminal justice system like ours where 95% of cases end in plea deals. If you are charged with a drug or controlled substance crime in Minnesota, contact a criminal defense attorney who is knowledgeable about drug crimes and how to fight them. Many practicing attorneys just assume that field drug tests are mostly reliable. That’s why it’s important that you hire the right attorney if you believe your field drug test was wrong. Contact Subzero Criminal Defense for a free consultation. 651-248-5142