Wheeler Cowperthwaite, writing for Cape Code Times:
The state Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday ordered that thousands of tainted drug cases be dismissed because a chemist tampered with samples at the state’s Amherest [sic] testing lab and prosecutors with the attorney general’s office withheld evidence. […]
The case is a result of multiple lawsuits over testing by former chemist Sonja Farak, who stole and tampered with drug samples for her personal use and covered up her misconduct in the lab’s computer system.
She pleaded guilty in 2014 to charges of tampering with evidence, stealing cocaine from the lab and unlawful possession.
She also had testified in court cases between 2005 and 2013 while intoxicated on cocaine, LSD, ketamine and other drugs.
A drug sample testing lab that offers easy access to high quality psychoactives must be an incredibly difficult place for some chemists to work. This particular chemist ended up giving into temptation and broke the rules. Even though she’ll be punished for her actions, the bright side in this case is that a lot of other drug users are going to get off scot-free.