Drug addiction generally starts with experimental substance use by social peer pressure. Many substances carry higher risks of dependency and addiction risks than others. Whilst drug abuse has rapidly increased among the population, drug testing companies have developed all kinds of drug testing alternatives to detect a drug user such as urine, saliva, sweat, blood, and hair tests.

Drug addiction generally starts with experimental substance use by social peer pressure. Many substances carry higher risks of dependency and addiction risks than others. Whilst drug abuse has rapidly increased among the population, drug testing companies have developed all kinds of drug testing alternatives to detect a drug user such as urine, saliva, sweat, blood, and hair tests.

But is it possible to directly ask someone to undergo a drug test? Well, this is exactly where you require help from Drug Recognition Experts (DREs). DREs are trained in identifying the drug abusers as well as the type of drugs abused without any particular drug tests.

Let’s discuss in detail what Drug Recognition Experts are and how they function in law enforcement.

How Drug Recognition Experts were initiated?

The DREs program was originated by the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1970s to identify impaired drivers and not those who were intoxicated by drugs. A series of sobriety tests were conducted in this program while many observations were made to identify drugs and toxic substances behind these impaired drivers. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) coordinates the program currently with the help of the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the whole program is generally termed as “Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DEC).

The Role of DREs

DREs are utilized in the identification of suspected drivers who might be impaired by illicit drugs or alcohol; or if a DRE officer detects any uncertain behavior due to drugs, medical conditions, or requires a quick detection under certain conditions like post-accident drug testing.

Know more about how alcohol testing or ETG testing can be beneficial at the workplace

There are ways to determine if an individual is under drug influence. DREs follow certain measures to detect:

  • Conduct breath alcohol test
  • Interview the suspected individual
  • Check the pulse rate thrice during the evaluation
  • Evaluate the suspect’s temperature and blood pressure
  • Conduct a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test
  • Conduct a five sobriety test such as finger to nose, one leg stand, and walk and turn to check for
    divided attention
  • Evaluate the pupil dilation with three different levels of light.
    Inspect for signs of injection of drugs; injection marks in case of intravenous/intramuscular infusions
    Inspect the muscle tone of the suspect
  • DREs after evaluating all the criteria, take into account whether the suspected drivers are drug abusers or not and further can demand the drug test on the suspect.

Under the situation such as crime scene or post-accident scenario, oral fluid drug testing is advisable for quick detection by drug testing services providers as the samples cannot be tampered by any external means.

Certain drugs are detected during the random drug testing by DRE officers. The categories include depressants like tranquilizers, stimulants such as cocaine, hallucinogens such as LSD or Ecstasy, dissociative anesthetics, Narcotic Analgesics like heroin, inhalants, or cannabis such as marijuana or THC. These categories of drugs can be identified during the pre-drug testing by DREs and drivers can further be inquired to report for DOT drug testing if found intoxicated.

The main question that arises is how to detect a drug user in our surroundings? Apart from the DRE identification tests, there are certain common traits observed in an individual who abuses drugs. Some of the common signs are anxiety or irritability, change in attitude towards friends and family, mood swings, needle marks, poor work performance, red eyes and runny nose, unusual weight loss or gain, and also a constant need for money. Try observing such behaviors in the surroundings.

With an understanding of how the DRE law enforcement works, one may like to know how any individual can enroll to become a DRE officer. The DRE certification is only provided to law enforcement officers, public criminal justice employees who are involved in criminal or traffic safety, or to the officers who train law enforcement agencies.

The Takeaway…

DRE identifies the impairment due to drugs or any medical conditions particularly during post-accident situations or crime scenes or any other situation where impairment identification is important. Although with an advanced DRE law enforcement program, it is not feasible to extend the DRE program beyond law enforcement and in our daily drug process. So a traditional drug testing service for schools or workplaces can be the best way to identify the drug users.
Employers can always suspect the drug abusers and observe for the common traits before a random drug testing program is conducted with Port of Corpus Christi drug testing experts.