Reports on Sandra Bland's Posthumous THC Levels Riddled With Bad Science
LatestThere is something very off about a recent story circulated by the Associated Press on Sandra Bland’s toxicology report, which was released on Monday. It was mostly republished by right-of-center publications like the New York Post and Fox News, with little interest from the mainstream media—presumably because the article makes some questionable claims about Bland’s marijuana use, a handy conservative talking point that is depressingly familiar.
In the story, two expert toxicologists reviewed the report. The report stated that the level of THC (an active component of marijuana) in Bland’s system was at 18 micrograms per liter, which the Associated Press notes is “more than three times the legal limit for drivers in Colorado and Washington, states that permit the recreational use of marijuana.”
University of Florida toxicology professor Bruce Goldberger was quoted as saying, ““I don’t think it’s possible to rule out the possibility of use while in jail,” a notion so unlikely that it seems odd to publicize it; no evidence has been found to back up that claim. Robert Johnson, chief toxicologist at the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office in Fort Worth, Texas, told the AP: “I have never seen a report in the literature or from any other source of residual THC that high three days after someone stops using the drug.”