It seems like if someone goes into an emergency room, they can get a toxicology report super fast depending on the emergency but if someone dies the toxicology report takes months. Why is that?
In: 15
Typically, hospitals only test for the presence of certain substances. It’s a very limited and generalized list. It tests for “opioids”, benzodiazepines, or cannabinoids, as opposed to specific drugs.
More in depth quantitative tests with identification take longer and are only done a certain labs.
There’s also chain of custody issues when dealing with legal cases, as well as a backlog at crime labs.
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