Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Georgia Criminal Law Blog

Criminal Law

: Georgia Criminal Law Blog

Ion Scanners

By Rob Leonard

I have recently run across a new device that is being employed in the war on drugs.  The ION SCANNER.  This device has grown popular in the prison systems to screen visitors at the prison gates.  Many false positives are being reported. One study confirms that false “positives can occur with baker’s poppy seeds, herbal products, natural body enzymes (i.e., melanin, the natural skin pigment which causes the skin to turn dark can cause false positive for marijuana), and from common medications.” In other words, Afro-Americans and some Hispanics and American natives may test positive simply because they are dark! Ion scanners detect chemicals that are derived from the building blocks of many substances other than controlled substances...continue to full post

Full post as published by Georgia Criminal Law Blog on October 19, 2006 (boomark / email).