So I wonder sometimes about what happens to all the drugs confiscated by police, DEA, FBI, etc. Do they really just torch it all, as happened on a Simpsons episode? [conspiracy theorist] Or do they sell it back to street dealers?[/conspiracy theorist] Any assistance from past/present/future cops/lawyers appreciated…
It’s held into evidence until it is no longer needed (i/e the underlying case is completed including appeals) and then they have what is known as Contraband Overdose Party For Unknowing Nutjobs (or COPFUN). The police sit around all day and smoke the drugs, shoot the guns into the air, and ram the confiscated cars and boats into each other at high speeds.
O.K., not really. The drugs are held in evidence until they are no longer needed and then they are destroyed. Generally, they will take it to a State-owned incinerator and burn it all. Oftentimes, it gets burned with a lot of other unneeded evidence and is not the best smelling time ever. Not quite as exciting, but there you go.
Warning–Personal anecdote ahead…
One of the coolest cops I ever met worked for the forest service down in Virginia. Part of his job included doing fly-overs of the area keeping an eye out for pot crops the locals had cultivated on government property. He told me they probably cleared out, on average, five or six such pot patches in a given year.
I asked him exactly what your OP wonders…“What do you do with it all?”
His reply–“Well, it needs to be destroyed so we have a BIG bonfire and just stand around and inhale.” 
[hijack]When I was growing up in Iowa, hemp was all over the place growing as a weed. When we went fishing we would build an upwind fire and then pull up green hemp plants and throw them on the fire. It served as an anti-mosquito smudge and was quite effective. It put out a thick, yellowish smoke that had the characteristic marijuana odor. I think the pot content of wild hemp was pretty low, but it was there.[/hijack]
P.S. I think it is now classified a noxious weed and is supposed to be destroyed wherever it is found in the state.
Some confiscated drugs are given to undercover officers for use in sting operations & the like, but I imagine a very small percentage is used this way.
–Cliffy
Man, I never get invited to the really good parties…
In Dallas, the dope is stolen by the police and replaced by powered pool chalk and dry wall. The originally busted drug dealers are set free and then they procecute their snitches for givening the police “bad” information.
Don’t police have to undergo random drug testing? This type of activity could get them all fired.
I dont think its as simple as “all illegal drugs are destroyed”…
more police are corrupt than you would think.
Anecdotal evidence doesn’t prove much, however:
A very good friend of mine was once busted with a baggie of pot. It was very clear that he was guilty. He was only charged with possession of one joint. He wasn’t about to complain, but why in the world would they charge him with less than he had? Somehow I doubt it was out of the goodness of their hearts.
The only explanation we could think of is that the arresting officer didn’t want to put ALL the pot into the evidence room…
Well, for most of the cops I know, most of it ends up in their personal stash 
. The pot, anyway. I don’t know any cops who do other drugs, but I’d say about 75% of the cops I know well enough to discuss such things with admit to smoking pot on a regular basis. Law enforcement is a stressful field to be in. Gotta unwind, yanno.
Once, I was riding in a cop car with a friend of mine, and dropped a pen or something. I reached down into the side (door) pocket and came up with about a half-ounce of fine, fuzzy orange marijuana. I looked at him, he looked shifty-eyed and said… “…evidence…”
Right
Peace,
~mixie
Missing drug evidence from police evidence lockups has been a plot device for framing good cops by bad cops since the 1960s.
Whether or not it really happens is something I don’t know. But I often wonder if films like “Training Day” are fairly realistic or not.
I rememeber back in the mid to late 1980’s there was a picture on the front page of the Calgary Sun of drugs being incinerated. Some pot plants were in a large metal garbage can, burning and there was a cop leaning over the can taking a big, ol’ whiff of it.
At the Chicago Jazz Fest a few years ago, sponsored by the city, a few vendors got to sell wine and beer. No one was allowed to bring any of their OWN in, of course, because that would cut into the vendors’ sales. “In,” by the way, meant into enormous Grant Park, where thousands of folks put down blankets, break out picnics, and hang out and listen to music. Most folks, such as my wfe and I, had brought a bottle of wine to enjoy. Signs posted told us what was up, but like most people, we figured we’d be discreet. Soon, a little electric mobile with two biker dudes (with signs that said Chicago Police Security) came around and they insisted on opening everyone’s picnic baskets, bags, purses, whatever. People who tried to refuse were sent out. If the goons found anything, and of course they did, they put it in a huge garbage can on the back and then when it was full, they drove it behind the bandshell. They wouldn’t even let people take their stuff and leave. They basically stole peoples’ goodies. I’m told that all during the concert, they spent their time splitting it up and hauling it to their cars. They made a huge haul that night. Evidence? for what? It was just confiscation and party, dude.
Quite often, if it doesn’t vanish altogether, it will mysteriously go from being an ounce to a quarter ounce between the arrest and the court appearance. Who’s going to complain about it?
I’ll be going down and joining the Police Force first thing in the morning.
Actually, random drug testing is very rare in law enforcement. I know of no agencies that actually do so.
Most cops belong to unions nowadays, and they object to random testing for the same reasons people in other industries do: being used for retaliation, false positives, etc.
Personally, I think it should be mandatory for all cops (and most of the guys I work with agree), but it isn’t being done yet.
As Hamlet said, the drugs are held until no longer needed, then usually sent to a certified incinerator site. Some may be held for drug sting operations, but we usually use counterfeit drugs for those whenever possible. If real drugs are used to make a transaction, they should never be allowed to actually get back on the street (i.e. we make the sale, then bust them before they leave).
In any reasonably modern department, and especially in any accredited agency, drug evidence is very tightly controlled. Every item is weighed when it goes in or out of the evidence room, access is limited to a very few people, and record keeping is extremly rigorous.
A relative of mine was once busted for a trunkload of stuff, at the trial. only half of the stuff was on the table as evidence.
I find it ironic that it’s the guys with guns who are not drug tested, yet the guy who rings up my order at McDonalds is. Also, armed with only my computer science knowledge, I have to get tested. I need a damn union.