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Positive drug tests prompt stricter policies at N.H. prisons |
By concordmonitor.com- Alyssa Dandrea |
Published: 08/09/2017 |
At a cost of $4.45, state officials can test for 12 drugs – including fentanyl – in one urine sample provided by an inmate. And in less than five minutes, they can have the preliminary results of those 12 tests without having to send the samples to the state’s forensics lab in Concord. From there, they can discard all urine cups with negative readings and forward only the positive samples to lab technicians for a final confirmation, which comes at a cost of $75 to $100. Enhancements in technology have made it possible for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections to perform thousands of additional drug tests annually on its prisoners – something that officials argue is necessary given the current opioid crisis in New Hampshire. They cite an annual increase in positive drug tests since 2012 as part of their justification for more restrictive policies – including in the prisons’ visiting rooms – aimed at curtailing the drug flow. But a closer review of the data reveals that the spike is due to an increase in testing, not necessarily a rise in drug use. In fact, the percentage of inmates testing positive has hardly changed over five years. Read More. |
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