Ion Scanners
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. In particular, the Department of Justice reported that the technology cannot distinguish between two different substances that are composed of ions with similar size and mass. This means that even an innocuous substance can be identified as illegal contraband.
Additionally, I have seen studies that suggest that as much as 75% to 95% of U.S. currency has drug residue on it.
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October 29th, 2006 at 11:58 am
would you be kind enough to cite to some of the studies you’ve read/seen regarding the percentage of currency that will test positive upon ion scanning?
January 15th, 2007 at 5:19 am
i was convicted of a imatation controled sub. the warrant was based on a ion scanner they say they swabed my door knob on my home and found cocaine so they got a warrant and came in to my home ripped it apart and found no drugs they did find salt and some fiber glass resin accelerator and charged me for this i had a public defender this was a wrong move because they found me guilty of imatation controled sub. this went to a jury trial and they found me guilty its funny how the court system can manipulate people into something that simply was not true it just shows the people charged dont have a leg to stand on inoccent or not your just guilty if you did it or not its to bad the system has come to this it tells us its nothing more than money not the law sad but true
April 25th, 2007 at 9:52 am
my husband is currently incarcerated and I have been visiting him regularaly for over a year and I have never had a problem with the ION til lately twice now in 2 weeks I have tested positive on my drivers licence for cocaine registering from 4.08 to 4.12, we sat down last night trying to figure out what it could be I am a Personal support worker and I handle medication all day but I always clean my licence before I enter the facility we came to the conclusion that the reading we were getting was due to a Hand sanitizer that i had used to clean my ID both times the machine weent off so the One Step Hand Sanatizer was making my ID read for cocaine we had the guards test the sanitizer and the machine went off though they told us it did not we heard it, they took the 1 800 # off the bottle and they told us they were contacting the company who provided their ION Scanner and would deal with it, though still denying that it made the machine go off why are they then contacting both companies? The things they do not want you to know eh……..
June 28th, 2007 at 10:10 am
i went to go see my husband at Fishkill Correctional Facility and i got “randomly selected” for an ion scan.The test was performed and i tested positive for cocaine. I told the correctional officer that the test was wrong because i didn’t do drugs and they said it didn’t matter.My visit was denied, i got escorted out, my picture was taken, and i had no choice but to leave. I was so embarrassed and humiliated. I was also upset because I couldn’t see my husband. I hope they find another another method to check for drugs(a more thorough one)because in my case I got accused of something that was completely false…
June 30th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Cari, On Jun 23rd, the same thing happened to me - at Fishkill Corr. Facility.- Melissa
July 7th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
This has happened to me on two occasions. One on June 2nd and now on June 30th. My visitation is suspended for 30 days because they say I tested positive for drugs. I am tired of the Bureau of Prisons getting away with targeting innocent people. I want to pursue this further. Any suggestions?
July 7th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
We have been getting a lot of comments and e-mails from folks that are being denied visitation to their loved ones. If there is enough interest, we may explore the option of filing a civil suit against the BOP. We will need to bring a Federal Civil litigation specialist on board to help out, if we decide to try and fix this.
I just had a criminal case dismissed outright because the prosecutor didn’t think he could prove his case with one of these machines.
September 30th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I was recently denied visitation at Clinton Annex a NYS facility after driving 6 hours to see my husband due to a positive ion test. I have NEVER been a drug user or ditributor so I was very upset and disgusted to be treated as such. My picture was taken and I felt like a criminal myself for no reason. They were kind enough to tell me that you can test positive for even handling money. How is this helping? I feel very bad for all the people who have been denied for this reason. What can we do to protect ourselves?