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A new investigation by The Marshall Project reveals that thousands of new mothers in Minnesota have been referred to law enforcement by hospital staff based on error-prone drug tests often given to newborns. 

Rather than illicit drugs, many of these parents had eaten or used poppy seeds, heartburn medications, CBD gummies and prescribed medications during their pregnancy, leading to encounters with police and child welfare agencies. 

“We know that these drug tests are highly unreliable. Some of them have a false positive rate as high as 50 percent,” reporter Jill Castellano told Morning Edition. Even fentanyl given at the time of an epidural by health care providers can trip the tests. 

In Minnesota, 9,000 such cases were referred to law enforcement in a six-year period. 

“To put that in more context, that’s one in 42 births. I mean, that’s staggering. I had to run the statistics several times because I almost didn’t believe it,” Castellano said. “But the reason why we’re seeing so many referrals is because of a state law requiring that child welfare refer every single report they receive to law enforcement. It doesn’t matter if child welfare determines the allegations are unfounded or the result of a false positive drug test.”

Minnesota is one of 13 states with an automatic referral, which can sometimes end with families being separated. 

Read The Marshall Project’s full report from Castellano and Shoshana Walter 

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Rather than illicit drugs, many of these parents had eaten or used poppy seeds, heartburn medications, CBD gummies and prescribed medications during their pregnancy, leading to encounters with police and child welfare agencies. 


Thousands of new mothers referred to law enforcement after faulty drug tests

A gynecologist holds a wand against a pregnant patient's stomach and points to a screen of an ultrasound with a fetus in January 2019.

Investigation: Thousands of new mothers referred to law enforcement after faulty drug tests

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