The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“CDCR”) recently announced that they are undergoing a massive review of any inmates who may have recently been effected by an estimated 6,000 false positive tests for the presence of opioids. There were suspicions that something was amiss by the California Correctional Health Care Services, which provides healthcare to inmates in the state, when they saw a sharp incline in positive tests, from around 6% positive rate in a month normally to a nearly 20% positive rate from April and July of 2024. This spike in positives has since been attributed to a change in the reagent, or chemical, used in the tests to indicate for a positive presence of the opioid in an inmate’s provided sample. Although prison officials are not allowed to use the tests administered for disciplinary actions in California’s penal system, that does note mean the impact is confined to simple demographics monitoring, advocates warn that these positive tests could have played a real impact in the denial of individual inmates parole hearings and applications. Representatives at UnCommon Law, a nonprofit advocacy group for inmates seeking parole, says that they had already been told at least 459 parole hearings may have been impacted by false positives, along with many other inmates’ applications to have their cases reviewed faster for their potential release. With some of the testing being a part of some inmates’ drug treatment plans while incarcerated, advocates warn that faulty or incomplete testing could discourage participation from inmates in the future if it could be falsely used against them in prolonging their sentences. “When the Board uses inconclusive drug tests from substance use treatment records in their parole hearings, they’re not just ignoring science and expert medical guidance — they’re driving people away from lifesaving treatment during a deadly overdose epidemic in our state prisons,” said Su Kim, senior policy manager at UnCommon Law. In a statement outlining the potential issues from the false positives, CDCR spokesperson Emily Humpal said that they are currently reviewing potentially impacted individuals and determining if, “without the positive drug screening, there is sufficient evidence to support an incarcerated person’s denial of parole.”
This is not the first instance of a mass failure of reliable drug testing impacting the lives of individuals and their freedoms, as we have previously covered a series of cases in Illinois that exposed issues with the reliability of testing procedures for marijuana in drivers accused of DUI in parts of the state. While many people believe in the infallibility of these drug tests and other accepted testing procedures, in reality there are many instances when laboratories relied upon by prosecutors and investigators have proven to be faulty and undependable. From corrupt lab technicians to faulty testing that fails to differentiate legal from illegal compounds of drugs, there is a long history of such scandals even in the present day. If you or someone you know has been prosecuted based in part by a positive drug screen or chemical test, or have a probation violation or supervised release violation pending because of the same, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney who can analyze that understands the science and its limitations and can competently review the data for errors to protect your freedom and ensure that your criminal record is not irrevocably harmed.
