THE LARGEST SOURCE
OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

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*Synthetic cannabinoid testing on prison mail

*Memorandum of Decision and Order Regarding Plaintiffs’ Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction

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FIELD DRUG TEST
KITS

WRONG AS MUCH AS 38% OF THE TIME IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES*

are "ONLY MARGINALLY BETTER THAN A COIN FLIP"*

YET, THESE UNRELIABLE TESTS ARE WIDELY USED — BY POLICE AND SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENTS, JAILS, AND PRISONS

AND CONDEMN PEOPLE TO CRIMINAL RECORDS, INCARCERATION, AND FAMILY SEPARATION

We want to limit the use of unreliable drug tests and their devastating impacts on people and communities

Imagine a fax machine that unreliably delivered to the wrong recipient

Or a cancer screening test that got it wrong 30,000 times a year. In these cases, we would find better and more reliable alternatives

Yet, cheap and unreliable field test kits are routinely used to test whether someone is in possession of illicit drugs

These kits are 50-year-old technology, comprising a small plastic pouch containing chemical solutions — no more sophisticated than an elementary school experiment

They are inherently inaccurate and have been known for decades to produce false positives

That is “the nature of the beast,” as the CEO of one manufacturer of drug test kits recently stated. But when they are used to devastating effect, the consequences are so much more than just a wrong result

A landmark two-year study, published in 2024 by the Quattrone Center at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, determined that:

FIELD DRUG TEST KITS — THE LARGEST
SOURCE OF WRONGFUL U.S. ARRESTS

APPROXIMATELY 773,000 PEOPLE ARE ARRESTED EACH YEAR BASED ON THESE FLAWED TESTS

Black people are disproportionately pulled over in traffic stops

All too often, the inaccurate result of a field drug test kit provides the basis for converting a traffic stop into an arrest and prosecution for drug possession

THE IMPACT IS DISPROPORTIONATELY FELT BY BLACK PEOPLE

BLACK PEOPLE ARE WRONGFULLY ARRESTED AND CONVICTED BASED ON INACCURATE FIELD TEST KITS AT THREE TIMES THE RATE OF THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS

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are estimated to plead guilty to drug charges that rely on field test results as evidence

Nationally, 100,000 people every year

Over 90% of people arrested based on a field drug test kit plead guilty in order to avoid continued detention, loss of employment, housing and even the risk of removal of children into the foster system

The result is thousands of innocent people burdened with a drug conviction that follows them for life

learn more

FIELD drug TEST KITS
IMPLICATE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY INCARCERATED

Based on presumptive positive results from field drug test kits used on incoming mail and other suspected substances found in prisoners’ possession, state and federal prisons regularly extend prison time and strip incarcerated people of earned privileges such as education, prison jobs and visitations rights, in addition to fining them, charging them for re-tests and any drug education programming, and placing them in solitary confinement

Low standards of evidence mean incarcerated people have little to no recourse when these tests are used to wrongly accuse them of possessing illegal substances

Only “some evidence” is required to support disciplinary action against incarcerated people by prison officials, meaning additional laboratory verification is not required.
‍
Yet, a 2021 study by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections showed that field drug test kits get it wrong 38% of the time, incorrectly determining that incoming mail contains narcotics to devastating effect.

FIELD TEST KITS ARE POPULAR BECAUSE THEY ARE CONVENIENT AND CHEAP

1960s

War
on Drugs

History:
Police departments began using field drug tests during the 1960s, as part of the emerging War on Drugs. However, in recent decades, use of field drug tests has exploded: thousands of police and sheriff’s departments across the country, in both urban and local areas, now use field drug tests.

Present:

The popularity of these field tests lies in their convenience and cost. Around $2 apiece, test kits are cheap and convenient for officers to carry in their patrol vehicles, ready to use whenever a driver is pulled over.

The Department of Justice determined that field tests should not be used for “evidential purposes” as early as 1978 — and in many jurisdictions, they remain inadmissible at trial. Often however, police departments and prosecutors are still unaware of how flawed these test kits are, and their continued use condemns innocent people to arrest and prosecution, undermining the confidence of entire communities in our criminal justice system.

MOST FIELD TEST KITS ON THE MARKET REQUIRE A MULTI-STEP PROCESS:

01

A general screening to determine whether the substance is an illegal substance

02

Further tests to determine the “presumptive positive,” for whichever illegal substance is likely present

The tests rely on basic chemical reactions to produce colors: if the chemical in the pouch changes color because it identifies a chemical compound, people can be arrested for the possession of an illegal drug, even though many common household items contain the same compound and will generate the same color change.

BUT POLICE STILL USE
THEM AS PROBABLE CAUSE
FOR ARREST

Although simple in theory, these tests are incredibly error-prone

Safariland, a leading manufacturer of field drug test kits, MAINTAINS A LIST OF 50 TO 60 NON-ILLICIT SUBSTANCES THAT HAVE YIELDED PRESUMPTIVE POSITIVE FOR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE RESULTS*

*Statement of Decision and Order re: Motion to Set Aside, Dismiss, Grand Jury Indictment, People v. Chacon, et al., No. JCF36904 (Superior Court of California, County of Imperial)

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.
Examples include:

White sugar

Bird poop

Donut glaze

Baking soda

Cotton candy

Common medications

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.
Examples include:

White sugar

Bird poop

Donut glaze

Baking soda

Cotton candy

Common medications

Safariland, a leading manufacturer of field drug test kits, MAINTAINS A LIST OF 50 TO 60 NON-ILLICIT SUBSTANCES THAT HAVE YIELDED PRESUMPTIVE POSITIVE FOR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE RESULTS*

*Statement of Decision and Order re: Motion to Set Aside, Dismiss, Grand Jury Indictment, People v. Chacon, et al., No. JCF36904 (Superior Court of California, County of Imperial)

INACCURATE RESULTS OCCUR BECAUSE:

The tests can be conducted in the wrong order

Most officers receive no formal training and are simply instructed to follow the instructions that come with the test kit

The perception of colors is subjective and can vary from person to person

Color changes are difficult to see and identify, particularly in bad weather or at night on the side of the road during roadside stops

The tests are
inherently inaccurate

They can only test for general chemical compounds, not the exact chemical composition or “fingerprint” of a narcotic. And those same compounds are found in substances that people often have in their cars or on their person

Inaccurate
results can occur because:

Test kit manufacturers maintain that any presumptive positives must be verified by an outside laboratory

Test manufacturers know that their test kits are inaccurate. In fact, most kits carry warnings that their tests are “presumptive in nature” and should be verified by a laboratory test

YET, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FREEDOM AND END UP WITH CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS BECAUSE OF FALSE TEST RESULTS

The Quattrone Center conservatively estimates that approximately 30,000 are falsely arrested and charged with drug possession each year based on inaccurate field drug test kits. They also found that over 90% of people charged took a guilty plea rather than face incarceration for months — and risk losing employment, housing, or custody of their children — and wait for a laboratory test

YET, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FREEDOM AND END UP WITH CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS BECAUSE OF FALSE TEST RESULTS

Test kit manufacturers maintain that any presumptive positives must be verified by an outside laboratory

Test manufacturers know that their test kits are inaccurate. In fact, most kits carry warnings that their tests are “presumptive in nature” and should be verified by a laboratory test

IT’S TIME
FOR CHANGE

Wrongful arrests based on inaccurate field test results undermine community trust in law enforcement officers and our criminal legal system. In addition to the devastating human cost on innocent people, their families and communities, the financial cost of arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating tens of thousands of innocent people each year is immense

Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars and limited government resources on inherently flawed test kits, it’s time to pursue other alternatives

Police and prosecutors should stop using inaccurate field drug test kits as a basis for arrest and prosecution

Jails and prisons should stop using inaccurate field drug test kits as a basis for sanctioning people who are incarcerated

The good news

As police and prosecutors have become aware of the issue, they have implemented alternative solutions that have proven practical and cost-effective. Similarly, legislators are finding ways to reduce the harm done by inaccurate field test kits.

Together, we can limit the devastating impact of inaccurate field drug test kits

Read the Policy Briefing

Together, we can end the devastating impact of inaccurate field drug test kits

Take Action

Digital
archive map

Explore how field drug tests are used
across the country

The Problem

01

The map

02

The stories

03

Take Action

04

THE LARGEST SOURCEOF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

FIELD DRUG TESTKITS

WRONG AS MUCH AS 38% OF THE TIME IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES*

are "ONLY MARGINALLY BETTER THAN A COIN FLIP"*

YET, THESE UNRELIABLE TESTS ARE WIDELY USED — BY POLICE AND SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENTS, JAILS, AND PRISONS

AND CONDEMN PEOPLE TO CRIMINAL RECORDS, INCARCERATION, AND FAMILY SEPARATION

We want to limit the use of unreliable drug tests and their devastating impacts on people and communities

The problem

The map

The stories

Take action

Imagine a fax machine that unreliably delivered to the wrong recipient

Or a cancer screening test that got it wrong 30,000 times a year. In these cases, we would find better and more reliable alternatives

These kits are 50-year-old technology, comprising a small plastic pouch containing chemical solutions — no more sophisticated than an elementary school experiment

They are inherently inaccurate and have been known for decades to produce false positives

That is “the nature of the beast,” as the CEO of one manufacturer of drug test kits recently stated. But when they are used to devastating effect, the consequences are so much more than just a wrong result

That is “the nature of the beast,” as the CEO of one manufacturer of drug test kits recently stated. But when they are used to devastating effect, the consequences are so much more than just a wrong result

FIELD DRUG TEST KITS — THE LARGESTSOURCE OF WRONGFUL U.S. ARRESTS

APPROXIMATELY 773,000 PEOPLE ARE ARRESTED EACH YEAR BASED ON THESE FLAWED TESTS

Black people are disproportionately pulled over in traffic stops

All too often, the inaccurate result of a field drug test kit provides the basis for converting a traffic stop into an arrest and prosecution for drug possession

THE IMPACT IS DISPROPORTIONATELY FELT BY BLACK PEOPLE

BLACK PEOPLE ARE WRONGFULLY ARRESTED AND CONVICTED BASED ON INACCURATE FIELD TEST KITS AT THREE TIMES THE RATE OF THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS

Nationally, 100,000 people every year

Over 90% of people arrested based on a field drug test kit plead guilty in order to avoid continued detention, loss of employment, housing and even the risk of removal of children into the foster system

The result is thousands of innocent people burdened with a drug conviction that follows them for life

FIELD drug TEST KITSIMPLICATE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY INCARCERATED

Low standards of evidence mean incarcerated people have little to no recourse when these tests are used to wrongly accuse them of possessing illegal substances

FIELD TEST KITS ARE POPULAR BECAUSE THEY ARE CONVENIENT AND CHEAP

1960s

Waron Drugs

MOST FIELD TEST KITS ON THE MARKET REQUIRE A MULTI-STEP PROCESS:

01

02

Although simple in theory, these tests are incredibly error-prone

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.Examples include:

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.Examples include:

INACCURATE RESULTS OCCUR BECAUSE:

Inaccurateresults can occur because:

Test kit manufacturers maintain that any presumptive positives must be verified by an outside laboratory

YET, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FREEDOM AND END UP WITH CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS BECAUSE OF FALSE TEST RESULTS

YET, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FREEDOM AND END UP WITH CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS BECAUSE OF FALSE TEST RESULTS

Test kit manufacturers maintain that any presumptive positives must be verified by an outside laboratory

IT’S TIMEFOR CHANGE

Police and prosecutors should stop using inaccurate field drug test kits as a basis for arrest and prosecution

The good news

Together, we can limit the devastating impact of inaccurate field drug test kits

Together, we can end the devastating impact of inaccurate field drug test kits

Digitalarchive map

THE LARGEST SOURCE
OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

FIELD DRUG TEST
KITS

FIELD DRUG TEST KITS — THE LARGEST
SOURCE OF WRONGFUL U.S. ARRESTS

FIELD drug TEST KITS
IMPLICATE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY INCARCERATED

War
on Drugs

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.
Examples include:

Common items regularly produce positive results for illegal drugs.
Examples include:

Inaccurate
results can occur because:

IT’S TIME
FOR CHANGE

Digital
archive map