Police turn to microcrystal drug testing to eliminate backlogs

The San Diego police department doesn’t have a drug testing backlog, which plagues many law enforcement agencies across the country. Lisa Merzwski, the department’s supervising criminalist, credits that to something called microcrystal testing.

Only a handful of police departments across the country use the test, which uses a chemical compound to verify potential drug evidence under a microscope. It’s fast, can reduce court backlogs, and costs taxpayers much less money than other forms of drug testing.