Interface of Science & Law in Drug Testing

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Interface of Science & Law in Drug Testing
By Mark P. Stevens; James R. Addison

Drug testing has become ubiquitous in the world of criminal law. Test results may be used to bolster a diminished capacity defense or undermine the credibility of a key witness. They may give rise to a probation violation hearing or serve as a basis for a pre-trial detention order. Yet defense lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and corrections officials often have little or no understanding of what drug tests actually measure, or the limitations of particular tests. Rather, they accept on faith that drug tests, in fact, answer the questions that they would like to have answered. There is an erroneous assumption that drug tests can provide data of the same character and quality as blood alcohol tests.

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