Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jul 2000
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2000 The Denver Post
Contact:  1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202
Fax: (303) 820.1502
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Forum: http://www.denverpost.com/voice/voice.htm
Author: Karen Auge

STATE LAB SUSPENDS DRUG TEST

A state health department lab has stopped doing tests
that police throughout Colorado rely on to identify suspects who have
been driving while on drugs, after an independent audit found the lab
took too long and, in one case, got results wrong.

Jane Norton, executive director of the Colorado health department,
said she is "very, very concerned" that the lab's situation could
jeopardize criminal cases against people suspected and convicted of
driving under the influence of drugs.

"I'm utterly stunned that we are in this position," Norton said. "I
assure you we are working around the clock to get this fixed."

Until then, the state is negotiating with Rocky Mountain Instrumental
in Fort Collins, one of the two other labs in Colorado certified to do
this particular test, to take over the tests until the state lab is
ready to conduct them again.

Dave Butcher, director of the state lab, said it could be September
before the state can resume testing.

Norton said her department expects to pick up the extra cost of having
a private lab do the tests, but said she isn't sure at the moment
where the money will come from.

"We're going to have to redirect resources until we get our program
back on track," Norton said.

Boulder County Sheriff George Epp, who is president of the County
Sheriffs of Colorado, said he had been assured that "local law
enforcement agencies would not incur any additional costs." Epp said
he didn't know of any cases in Boulder County that had been affected
by the work at the health department lab.

The indefinite suspension affects only tests done on urine samples to
determine if drugs are present and, if so, what kind. The state lab
typically does about 1,100 of those tests a year, Norton said.

The action does not affect the roughly 36,000 tests on blood alcohol
levels that the lab performs each year, or any of the other tests done
at the state lab.

Butcher, who took over as director of the lab March 1, said he decided
to suspend the tests because the lab faced losing its
certification.

Butcher said he found out Thursday the lab made a mistake on a
proficiency-test sample sent in by the American College of
Pathologists.

At that point the lab could have lost its certification.

"I took steps to prevent that from happening by suspending testing,"
he said.

Butcher traced the problem to not having enough staff who are properly
trained to do the tests.

Norton said both the former lab director and associate director
retired within weeks of each other earlier this year. She said Tuesday
that she authorized the lab to hire an additional chemist.

Butcher estimated that hiring additional staff and training those
already in the lab could take until September.

Norton said that when the state lab does resume the tests, it may have
to charge more for them.

Currently the state charges $55 per test, while private labs charge up
to $180 for a test, Norton said.

Law enforcement agencies have traditionally preferred to use the state
lab because it is cheaper than going to a private lab. But Norton said
that lately, the lab has been losing business to other testers.

"Our revenues have dropped substantially," Norton said.

"Our volume of business has been going down. I'm sure it's related" to
the lab's backlog and other problems, she said. "It's a vicious circle
if we're unable to turn the tests around quickly enough, people go
elsewhere and then volume drops," which causes revenue to drop.

Denver Post staff writer Jim Kirksey contributed to this report.
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