IF YOU NEED HELP
If you have been arrested, detained, or charged based on a roadside drug test, the following points are important to understand:
Roadside drug test kits are presumptive tests, not definitive proof of a narcotic. Even manufacturers of these kits state that laboratory testing is required to confirm the presence of a controlled substance.
False positives are well documented. Scientific studies and investigative reporting have shown that many common substances can trigger positive results.
Laboratory confirmation is the gold standard. Reliable identification of suspected narcotics requires proper laboratory analysis using validated forensic methods.
Legal challenges to these tests have been made, with limited success, in courts across the United States. Several cases have considered the reliability and use of field drug tests in arrests and disciplinary proceedings.
If you are currently facing a charge involving a roadside drug test, you should consult with a criminal defense attorney. The Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance does not provide legal advice, but the resources below provide scientific research, government reports, legal filings, and media investigations documenting the causes, consequences and issues of roadside drug testing.
Research and Government Reports
Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance
Field Drug Test Policy Briefing
https://squarespace.com/RDTIA+Policy+Briefing.pdf
University of Pennsylvania – Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice
Field Drug Tests and Wrongful Arrests and Convictions Study
https://www.quattronecenter/reports/field-drug-tests-and-wrongful-convictions/
National Institute of Justice (2018)
Landscape Study of Field Portable Devices for Presumptive Drug Testing
https://nij.ojp.gov/landscape-study-field-portable-devices-presumptive-drug-testing
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Forensic Laboratory
Presumptive Field Testing Using Portable Raman Spectroscopy – Stefana Fedchak
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/244564.pdf
Florida Forensic Science Review
Scott Company Cocaine Field Test False Positives and False Negatives
https://www.floridaforensicscience.com/false-positives-false-negatives-cocaine-specific-field-test
University of Nebraska
Amphetamine Field Test False Positives Caused by Sugar
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1113&context=chemistrydiss
U.S. Government Accountability Office (2021)
Customs and Border Protection Use of Field Drug Tests
https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/713962.pdf
New York City Department of Investigation (2024)
Fentanyl Drug Test Accuracy in the NYC Department of Corrections
https://rdtinnocencealliance.org/s/NYDOCFieldTestingRpt11202024.pdf
Nebraska Inspector General (2024)
Field Drug Tests Used for Discipline of Incarcerated People
https://rdtinnocencealliance.org/s/Nebraska-Inspector-General-Field_Drug-Test-Report.pdf
Legal Cases and Court Filings
Imperial County, California Superior Court (2018)
Decision Regarding the Use of Field Drug Tests in Grand Jury Proceedings
https://rdtinnocencealliance.org/s/2018-Imperial-County-CA-Superior-Court-NIK-test-decision.pdf
Steffey v. Salazar – U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2020)
Appellate Brief Addressing the Use of Field Drug Tests in Prison Disciplinary Sanctions
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/7326382/Steffey-v-Salazar-9th-Circuit.pdf
Green v. Massachusetts Department of Corrections
Class Action Complaint
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21019044/green-v-ma-doc-complaint.pdf
Massachusetts Department of Corrections Litigation
Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order Prohibiting Uncorroborated Field Drug Tests in Inmate Sanctions
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21124236-mass-doc-tro
Massachusetts Department of Corrections
Illicit Substance Introductions in Legal and Non-Legal Mail Report
https://rdtinnocencealliance.org/s/MADOC-Illicit-Substance-Introductions-Legal-and-Non-Legal-Mail.pdf
Erik Lund v. K. Murphy et al. – Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Amicus Curiae Brief Filed by the Roadside Drug Test Innocence Alliance
https://rdtinnocencealliance.org/s/ECF-017-Brief-for-Roadside-Drug-Test-Innocence-Alliance-as-Amicus-Curiae-in-Support-of-Appellant2051.pdf
Media Coverage and Investigations
ProPublica / New York Times Magazine (2016)
How a $2 Roadside Drug Test Sends Innocent People to Jail
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/magazine/how-a-2-roadside-drug-test-sends-innocent-people-to-jail.html
Reason Magazine (2021)
The $2 Drug Test Keeping Inmates in Solitary Confinement
https://reason.com/2021/06/13/the-2-drug-test-keeping-inmates-in-solitary/
NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (2024)
Field Drug Tests Wrongfully Implicate Tens of Thousands of Americans Each Year, Study Finds
Fox 5 Atlanta I-Team Investigation (2024)
Nearly 1,000 Georgians Wrongly Arrested Due to False Positive Drug Field Tests
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (2023)
Scott Company Drug Field Tests Discontinued Due to False Positives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiIGZ7VkwvE
Jacksonville, Florida News Report (2023)
Innocent Man Jailed for Five Days After False Positive Drug Test
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/dropped-drug-charges-not-end-legal-issues
Fox 5 Atlanta I-Team Investigation (2024)
Army Private Arrested After Melatonin Tablets Produce False Positive Field Test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuojNCgRSDg&t=64s
CBS News, Colorado (2026)
80 year-old Grandmother Cited for Cocaine PossessionFollowing Prescription Medication False Positive
KWQC Iowa News Report (2026)
13-year-old Expelled from Middle School When her Baked Cookies Falsely Tested Positive for THC
https://www.kwqc.com/2026/02/08/cookie-drug-test-expulsion-moms-fight-clear-her-child/
Contact and Support
If you would like additional information, please email 📧 connect@rdtinnocencealliance.org