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The police department in High Point, NC, recently became the first law enforcement agency in the nation to buy a device known as the NTX 2000, which can test substances for the presence of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine in only a few minutes using 3D florescent technology.

The NTX 2000 is made by Nar Test Technologies and costs about $30,000.

High Point police evidence technician Jane Aswell said the device has received nothing but positive feedback from officers and the district attorney, and has definitely improved the time it takes to get drug test results back, which previously took an average of 14 months at the state lab.

Currently the NTX 2000 is not recognized by the courts as an acceptable method to test for drugs, and High Point police submit samples tested on the machine to Nar Test's forensics lab to verify results in case the evidence is challenged by defendants in the future.

Aswell said officials are waiting for a case involving the NTX 2000 to be challenged in court so a ruling can determine if it is admissible. So far all cases involving the device have ended in a plea or a dismissal, but all results indicate that the machine is accurate, according to Aswell.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from High Point Enterprise (03/10/07); Kimbrough, Pat.