This question has been brewing for some time. When there is a newspaper story about a death that may be attributed to drugs or alcohol, it always reads something like, “Toxicology tests will take 6 to 8 weeks.” Why do these types of tests take so long?
I’m sure it is just economics. I would guess they send tox samples out to a contract lab, and in the lab business, providing results fast costs a lot of money. Sometimes double or triple the regular rates.
The police probably aren’t in much of a hurry unless the death appears suspicious for some reason. Then they might pay to get information sooner to get a better chance at solving the case.
I think honkytonkwillie is probaly right. Also, the toxicology labs that examine samples sent by the morgue are most likely to be the same labs that do tests on samples from living patients, where it’s much more urgent to get a fast result so the right treatment can be used