TOEWS' COCAINE CONNECTION

At first glance, the story of how a trace of cocaine was found on
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews' money during a border security
demonstration may seem merely amusing. But it should also serve as a
cautionary tale about the potential dangers of overreliance on
technology for law enforcement.

Toews was at Toronto's Pearson Airport to view detection methods
border officers use to spot illegal items. When his $20 bill was
tested using an ionizer machine, according to reports, it went into
red alert.

A surprised Toews was told that finding a trace of cocaine on a $20
bill is not unusual. Many people, the border authorities said,
unknowingly have currency that has been handled by drug users and
dealers that may contain very small amounts of the drug. In fact,
officials said they don't test money at border crossings, partly
because it would cause such long lineups. Instead, they test passports
and luggage.

The bigger question is whether such technology is potentially
dangerous if misused.

A Minnesota grandmother recently found out the hard way what can
happen when technology overrides common sense. While trying to cross
the border into Manitoba in April, a jar of oil in her minivan was
mistaken for heroin after a cursory test. She spent 12 days in jail
before further tests determined there was no heroin in the oil after
all. In her case, an initial test was used as the rationale to arrest
and detain her.

Could tests that can detect trace amounts of cocaine also be used as
evidence? And if anyone, including Toews, could unwittingly have trace
amounts of the drug on their money, what would such a test prove?