- August 6, 2019
- Posted by: Shane Dwyer
- Category: Drug Testing
There has been a lot of confusion in society with CBD becoming so present and abundant, and many law enforcement officers have been having trouble separating it from marijuana in drug tests. Virginia law enforcement is getting ahead of the game and stepping up their testing after they local Channel 4 News Team (I can’t type that and not think about the movie the Anchorman) found flaws with the tests currently in place in Virginia.
Virginia Incorporates New Drug Field Test
This new drug tests was developed by Swiss police, and it’ll change into distinct colors when the subject matter has more marijuana than CBD, it’s hemp “cousin.” At a recent board meeting, it was discussed and suggested that the police force use these new testing kits along with the former kits. The kits previously being used right now are called Duquenois-Levine reagent tests, and they can only identify items as a cannabinoid, which could in fact mean CBD, or marijuana, which obviously creates confusion. The Swiss tests will help further determine if the substance is CBD, or weed, according to the channel 4 report. Money from the state’s criminal justice services will ensure that 15,000 kits are purchased for use in the state by it’s law enforcement officers.
However, the Swiss tests can produce false positives, and for this reason it’s suggested that they aren’t used alone.
In the state of Florida, where I was recently at the CBD Expo, law enforcement agencies locally are also diving in to buy these new kits. In Florida, CBD can have up to 0.3% THC.
Other states now buying these kits include Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
I think it’s a good proactive measure that law enforcement agencies get up to speed on CBD, even if it means tedious testing. There have been news reports of confused cops who have been busting people with CBD oil, and that’s clearly wrong! We don’t want to make their jobs any more difficult, so I applaud this measure and hope everyone gets trained properly on how to use these so we have an educated society when it comes to this topic.
