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March 3 Press Conference to Expose Faulty Drug Test Kits Used Widely by Law Enforcement

Posted on: Monday, 2 March 2009, 09:16 CST

Report Entitled 'False Positives Equal False Justice' to Be Released at National Press Club; Retired FBI Forensics Expert and Victims of False Arrests to Testify

WASHINGTON, March 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, March 3 at 1 p.m., the Marijuana Policy Project and Mintwood Media Collective will host a press conference at the National Press Club to release a new report that exposes faulty drug test kits used widely by law enforcement. The study, entitled "False Positives Equal False Justice," reveals that the NIK NarcoPouch 908/Duquenois-Levine Reagent field test kit, the most widely used field test for identifying marijuana, as well as the majority of other drug test kits used as the basis for arrest and prosecution by law enforcement have an unacceptably high rate of rendering false positives.

In addition to testimony by experts in the field, as well as those directly impacted by these faulty tests, experiments will be performed at the press conference that will demonstrate the unreliability of various drug tests and their capacity to render false positives. Natural soap, chocolate and newspaper, among other household items, all will test positive for marijuana and other drugs such as GHB in these drug tests, yet these kits continue to be used in both arrests and prosecutions nationwide. These faulty tests result in the unjust arrest, imprisonment and even prosecution of innocent citizens.

WHAT: Press conference exposing faulty drug tests through the release of a new report entitled "False Positives Equal False Justice"

WHEN: Tuesday, March 3 at 1 p.m.

WHERE: Zenger Room at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor - Washington, D.C., 20045

WHO: Frederic Whitehurst is a retired FBI agent and forensics expert, whose findings are featured extensively in the new report.

David Bronner is the president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. In 2007, the results of a NarcoPouch(R) 928 field drug test of his company's popular organic soap was used to jail Don Bolles - drummer for the legendary punk band, the Germs - for possession of the drug GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate). A crime lab confirmation using a more reliable test exonerated Bolles and Dr. Bronner's soaps of the drug possession charges.

John Kelly is a researcher and author of "False Positives Equal False Justice."

Dr. Omar Bagasra is a professor and the director of the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology at Claflin University. He contributed significantly to the report, including testing the specificity of the NIK NarcoPouch with 42 non-marijuana substances following the procedure prescribed by NIK.

Rob Kampia is executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.

Ron Obadia and Nadine Artemis are co-owners of Living Libations Inc. They have been arrested twice because their raw chocolate tested positive for hashish with the Duquenois-Levine color chemical test. Upon their first arrest, they were placed in separate rooms and told they faced "life in prison." Subsequent lab testing proved there was no hashish in the chocolate. Their arrests have resulted in extensive legal bills and other challenges.

SOURCE Marijuana Policy Project

Source: PR Newswire

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