Brickbat: False Positive

A report by New York Inspector General Lucy Lang found the state prison system wrongly punished more than 2,000 inmates who falsely tested positive for drugs. Over-the-counter drugs, protein powder, and tea are among the substances that can cause the drug test used by the prison system to come back positive. The manufacturer's instructions say that results should be treated as unconfirmed, but prison officials did not send the material to an outside lab for confirmation. Based on the test results, some inmates had family visits and parole hearings canceled while others were placed in solitary confinement.

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