I'm not sure what this means...
The devices being field-tested will test only for meth, but the mass-produced devices will test for meth, cocaine, marijuana, heroin and peroxide-based explosives — which are similar chemically to meth, company officials said.
"They don't have to know what drug they are looking for," Foster said.
It doesn't appear as if the meth gun will work like Valimed, where the operator enters the signature to be tested nor will it test for concentration, only presence.
If the operator doesn't need to know what it is, then the gun probably checks the scan against known signatures. If that's the case, I suppose it'll need that "colored LCD display" to ID the chemical detected if it's testing for anything more than just meth.
But that version is a couple years away IMO.
After talking with several knowledgable people, the gun would be a good tool to check for meth lab clean-up if it can be certified for that purpose. After a bust, a meth lab must be cleaned, then certified. Right now in CA they take a 3 inch wipe from a surface and send it to a lad for testing. The gun would definitely be an improvement. Grant money is available to find ways to facilitate this process in CA.
AFA the guns use to collect evidence, well that's going to be an issue as we've discussed earlier.
In the article, Sgt. Garcia seems to be dismissing it as a tool to gather evidence (at lesat in the short term), but acknowledges its use as a clean-up tool:
Because the meth gun's technology has never been used at crime scenes before, it will have to face court challenges to its admissibility, said Tucson Police Sgt. Mark Garcia, who works in the department's narcotics unit. Like the radar gun, the meth gun will probably have to go through lengthy use in the field.
"Something like that will have to go through all the legal hurdles of acceptance," Garcia said.
The chemical field tests used by police have been ruled admissible in court, he said.
The product does interest him though, he said.
"It could be very helpful in meth cleanup," Garcia said.
AI
