DEA's Definition Of Evidence Control Apparently Doesn't Include Recording Gross Weight Of Seized Substances

from the 'controlled'-substances,-my-ass dept

Let's start out with this story, which is graphically (and tragically) illustrative of the problem discussed later in this post.

A former police detective and Drug Enforcement Agency task force member committed suicide after being arrested for allegedly setting up drug sales involving substances seized by his department, WBNS-TV reported.

Authorities said 43-year-old Tye Downard hung himself inside his cell on Monday morning. The 20-year veteran officer for the Reynoldsburg Police Department had been arrested on Feb. 18 and charged with possession of drugs with the intent to distribute.

WSYX-TV reported that Downard made nearly $35,000 from the transactions leading up to his arrest. He faced up to 20 years in prison as a result of the charges against him, and nearly 50 cases in which he was involved will be reviewed.

The DEA seems very concerned about controlled substances. Internal control of these substances? Not so much. A recent Inspector General's audit found multiple problems with the DEA's handling of seized drugs, the most egregious of which appears to be this particular aspect.

We reviewed the DEA-6s for 250 exhibits to determine whether the gross weight of the exhibit was documented as required by the DEA Agents Manual. We found the gross weight was not listed on the DEA-6 for 128 of the 250 exhibits.

Over 50% of those audited had no weight listed. The New York office was the worst of those sampled, with 80% of its seized evidence paperwork missing this crucial element.


Considering the fact that sentencing is partially predicated on weight, you'd think the DEA would show more interest in maintaining an "unimpeachable chain of custody." Not so. The OIG spoke to DEA supervisors about this missing info and received a shrug, a post facto promise to fix, and a statement almost too stupid to be believed.

One manager provided no explanation, another stated that the missing weights were an oversight that would be corrected, and the third manager informed us that he was not aware of the requirement to document the gross weight of the exhibit.

Recording the weight is incredibly important. The above case -- where an untold amount of drugs simply "walked out" of DEA evidence rooms -- illustrates why the DEA must not only record this weight, but verify it periodically. But those in charge of maintaining the chain of custody seem less than concerned about their underlings' failure to do so. It's because of that attitude that a task force member was able to personally profit from the illegal sale of seized evidence.

The requirements established in the Agents Manual helps ensure the integrity of the exhibit for prosecution, minimize suspicions regarding the theft or loss of drugs during the seizure process, and provide a benchmark for future weight calculations.

The OIG recommends the DEA start doing the thing it should have been doing 100% of the time already. The DEA concurs and will presumably correct it at the speed of bureaucracy. The problem is that this is obviously a systemic issue that has gone unaddressed for years. This lax handling of evidence should call into question the amounts cited during prosecution, not to mention any statements in court regarding the integrity of the evidence it supplies.

Filed Under: dea, evidence, tracking, weight

DailyDirt: Big Bones Are A Myth, But Obesity Has Legit Causes

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Some people are naturally skinny and able to eat almost anything they want without gaining weight. Obviously, there are also plenty of folks who need to watch their diets very carefully and exercise regularly to prevent unhealthy weight gain. The causes for obesity are not well understood, and while many observers like to say it's obvious that people need to expend more calories than they consume, the challenge of doing so isn't as simple as it sounds for many. There aren't any miracle diets or drugs, but as we study obesity and understand it more, there could be more palatable treatments someday.

• Mitochondrial genetics could explain metabolic changes with age and with different environmental conditions. Large scale studies of mitochondrial changes in city populations are just beginning, and researchers will try to make sense of how cell genetics influence health. [url]
• A rare chromosomal abnormality can cause Prader-­Willi syndrome -- a condition that can be fatal and cruel because its victims can literally eat to death. People with this condition have no sensation of satiety, so they can eat until their stomachs rupture. [url]
• There's evidence to support the idea that intestinal microbes correlate with obesity. A fecal transplant from an overweight daughter to a mother suffering from an intestinal infection resulted in the infection going away -- but also a weight gain problem for the mother that previously didn't exist. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: diet, fecal transplant, flora, genetics, gut, health, microbes, mitochondria, obesity, overweight, prader-willi syndrome, satiety, weight

DailyDirt: Watching Our Weight...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

One of the most common new year's resolutions is to try to lose weight and stick to a diet in the coming year. It's an especially obvious resolution to make after eating way too much at family gatherings. Here are just a few links on the topic of eating too much and gaining more than a few extra pounds.

• Bags of snacks that contain just 100 calories worth of goodies are kind of annoying, so how about other ways to indicate calories? Imagine stacks of potato chips where every tenth chip was red -- subtly telling you how many servings you're consuming. [url]
• The Weight of The Nation is an HBO documentary that investigates the issues of obesity and the food industry in the US. Nearly 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, and obesity is a public health issue that can not be ignored. [url]
• An obesity-inducing microbe could be living in our intestines, making us fatter. Fight fire with fire... and ingest some tapeworms! [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: diet, food, microbe, obesity, overweight, weight
Companies: hbo