Home / Crime and Justice / Colorado Bill Targets Faulty Field Drug Tests
Colorado Bill Targets Faulty Field Drug Tests
3 Mar
Summary
- Faulty drug tests can lead to nearly 40% false positive rates.
- Thousands wrongfully charged yearly due to inaccurate drug tests.
- Colorado bill aims to prevent arrests based on single test.
A Colorado bill is aiming to reform the use of field drug tests, which have a documented false positive rate of nearly 40%. These tests have led to an estimated 30,000 people being wrongfully charged each year, often resulting in guilty pleas without further confirmation. The proposed legislation would prevent arrests for misdemeanor drug possession based solely on these tests.
For felony cases, the bill mandates that law enforcement inform defendants about the test's error rate before they enter a plea. It also grants defendants the right to request a confirmatory lab test. This initiative is partly inspired by a case where a woman was wrongly accused of cocaine possession due to a faulty test on a prescription medication found in her purse.
Supporters believe this bill will prevent innocent individuals from enduring financial and emotional distress. The legislation, potentially named 'Holly's Law,' has advanced through the House and passed the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition, signaling a significant step towards reforming drug testing procedures in Colorado.
