In 2007, drummer Don Bolles was driving in his van in Newport Beach, California when he was pulled over by police officers. The police officers arrested Bolles for his alleged possession of GHB, which is a date rape drug. The police officers had pulled over Bolles for a broken taillight, searched his van, and allegedly found the banned drug. However, a lab test ultimately revealed that the "GHB" found in the drummer's van was simply an all-natural cleanser. As a result, all charges against Bolles were dropped.

Without warning, police officers can approach you and accuse you of possessing drugs. As the incident described above reveals, you can be arrested if police officers claim you were in possession of an illegal drug. Even worse, if you find yourself in a similar scenario, the lab test results will often be the determining factor in whether you are convicted. Unfortunately, in a significant number of cases, flawed drug tests often lead to the conviction of innocent individuals.

A threat to the innocent

Each year, police officers accuse and arrest hundreds of thousands of individuals for drug possession. These individuals are informed that a police officer found drugs in their vehicle or home and are told that they should try for a lenient sentence by accepting a plea deal. While the idea of accepting a plea deal for a lenient sentence may seem reasonable, it is important to keep in mind that some people charged with drug possession weren't actually in possession of an illegal substance.

Something readers may not be aware of is that federal regulators have the authority to limit the amount of controlled substances which may be manufactured in the United States on an annual basis. Under the Controlled Substances Act, the United States Attorney General is required to set annual manufacturing quotas for basic classes of Schedule I and II controlled substances to ensure an adequate supply.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which is the agency delegated the authority to handle such matters, recently issued a final order establishing initial aggregate production quotas for 2017. The new numbers reportedly represent a 25 percent reduction in production for almost all Schedule II opiates and opioid medications, though the manufacture of certain medications was reduced by an even greater amount.

The purpose of setting quotas for the manufacture of controlled substances was to prevent diversion of these drugs from legitimate use, though changes in manufacturing quotas are also driven by market demand, which has reportedly decreased for opioid medicines, even as opioid addiction continues to be a serious problem in many areas of the country. Young people, a recent study shows, are particularly at risk, as well as older adults.