In Asheville N.C., an enzyme found in cheese triggered a false drug test result that led North Carolina deputies to assume a man with ninety one pounds of tortilla dough was actually carrying that much cocaine.
The suspect spent four days in an Asheville jail before the tests came back from the state lab showing he was carrying food, not drugs.
The suspect tried to tell the deputies what it actually was but to no avail. He was stopped by a deputy that found what turned out to be a mix of cheese, shrimp, and tamale as well as tortilla dough in his truck.
The deputies had a portable kit and it indicated the mixture was illegal drugs. Of course, at this point he was brought in and booked.
The sheriff did not know until this case came up that some foods like cheese can give false positives on field drug tests. He plans to talk with the company that makes the tests.
If this man had gotten shipped off to a North Carolina
drug abuse rehab court for rehabilitation or possibly prison time on this false accusation, it likely would not have done anyone any good.
It is part of our culture to automatically assume that anyone is carrying drugs illegally. Testing is the only way deputies can tell if there is an offense. So the test kit is very important for any and all deputies to have in their possession in order to detect
drug abuse.
