This program will be an interview-style conversation between Judge Robert S. Anchondo, the Region 6 Judicial Outreach Liaison (El Paso, Texas), and Paul Cary, M.S., Forensic Toxicology Consultant retired director of the Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Missouri, and faculty at the National Drug Court institute.
Court-mandated abstinence monitoring requires a valid urine sample to ensure that drug testing results provide an accurate and reliable profile of a participant’s substance use. Dilute urine samples (with a creatinine of less than 20 mg/dL), designed to produce falsely negative drug testing results, represents the most common form of specimen tampering. Negative testing results preclude therapeutic intervention and diminish client engagement in recovery. However, addressing dilute samples as an undesired participant behavior is not always straight-forward. This interview session will provide treatment court practitioners with helpful guidance on the interpretation of urine creatinine results and the court’s response to dilute samples in a therapeutic context.