CMC Government Supply keeps a lot of cops prepared for life on the streets. The Dallas-based provider of law enforcement equipment and gear has been around since the 1980s and now outfits a broad assortment of not only police agencies but also military and government entities, training organizations and commercial security firms. Offering an extensive array of top brands, it serves accounts in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Among the popular items officers procure from CMC are things like body armor and options for less-lethal force – and, increasingly, products to presumptively identify potential illegal drugs outside the lab.
“That market’s been growing for more than a decade – it’s not something new,” said David Goldstein, the company’s president. “The fentanyl problem in this country has taken over the news from the opioid addiction problem, which took over from the cocaine problem, which took over from heroin. I mean, however far back in time you go, there’s been a drug problem.
“Right now, fentanyl just happens to be making more headlines, along with methamphetamine, than other types of drugs. But we’ve seen a growing market for presumptive drug testing for years.”
There are plenty of products out there to assist officers with that preliminary identification, but many can have drawbacks. With demand strong and growing, however, Goldstein was keen to expand what his company offered.
When he discovered Trace Eye-D’s line of drug detection wipes – which, with a single safe, simple motion can provide preliminary identification of fentanyl and other opioids, as well as methamphetamine and cocaine – adding them to his company’s arsenal was an easy choice.
“It’s a unique product,” Goldstein said. “The other field identification product lines we sell are pouch-based, with ampoules that need to be broken. This is a differentiated product. The other nice aspect is the ability to wipe pills – you don’t have to take a knife, when you’re out in the field and the wind is blowing or it’s raining, and try to take a pill and grind it up and stick it in a pouch. That’s a big advantage.”
Trace detection is just one of the benefits the wipes bring to police users in the field.
‘OPEN, WIPE AND LOOK’
The primary distinction of Trace Eye-D’s drug identification wipes is their sheer simplicity of use. Whereas traditional systems can require multistep processes of scooping or swabbing powders, manipulating them, then breaking ampoules to activate reagents, wipes are simply wiped. As the company says, just open the packet, touch the wipe to the substance and observe the result, which appears in seconds.
“We’ve simplified it down to ‘open, wipe and look,’” said Chris Baden, Trace Eye-D’s founder and CEO. “No more mixing and squeezing and cracking and shaking and baking.”
Because all presumptive drug identification tests use the same reagents, they can all produce comparably accurate results; Trace Eye-D’s difference starts with simplicity and safety. Injuries from broken ampoules are the most common type of sharps injuries in health care, and the delicate maneuverings of such kits aren’t always easy to do in uncontrolled field environments. Nonintact skin may pose an exposure risk if powders are mishandled.
CMC rolled the Trace Eye-D wipes out this summer to an enthusiastic reception. The fentanyl wipe, which also detects analogs and other opioids, turns pink upon a positive identification. With the proliferation of the drug today, it’s been of great interest to law enforcement buyers. The Trace Eye-D methamphetamine wipe has become a big mover too; it turns bluish-purple with a positive reaction to meth, MDMA (ecstasy) or GHB.
“The fentanyl wipe is what gets the most attention, and it rivals methamphetamine for being our most popular,” said Goldstein. “There’s still more meth being pulled over at the side of the road than there is fentanyl, but the two rival each other for the top position.”
Cocaine is still around too; its wipe produces a light blue color with a positive test. All drug wipes come in boxes of 10. CMC also carries Trace Eye-D’s line of explosive-detection wipes.
To ensure users receive good information about a drug as dangerous as fentanyl, Trace Eye-D also offers a free online training course for those who buy its fentanyl wipes.
NOTHING TO GO WRONG
As CMC’s president, Goldstein doesn’t spend a lot of time behind a desk. He focuses on interfacing with customers, hearing their needs and feedback, and communicating with vendors when issues arise.
His police clients range from tiny departments with just a handful of members to some of the biggest PDs in America. With that diversity, they provide a valuable range of inputs and insights into gaps in their capabilities.
“I meet with both command staffs and patrol and tactical staffs on a daily basis to stay in touch,” he said. “Obviously we look at what’s selling and also what customers are asking for that we may not already offer, so I hear about a range of products. We also participate in a lot of trade shows and training conferences where we don’t just exhibit but actually attend the training. So we’re learning what they’re learning.”
More than just a finger on the pulse of the market, that leads to a well-informed vendor thoroughly versed in the nuances of various options. It’s also brought Goldstein positive feedback on the Trace Eye-D line.
“The acceptance of the wipes versus the pouch-based tests has been really good for a number of reasons,” Goldstein said. “One is that ease of use – you don’t have to remember which ampoule to break first, second or third, depending on the test. There’s nothing to mix and nothing to go wrong.”
A second benefit is easy disposal: The National Institute of Justice’s Standard 0604.01 on color test reagents/kits for preliminary identification of drugs of abuse requires that liquid-based kits “contain chemicals for neutralizing strongly acidic and basic reagents and/or acid/base-resistant containers into which used reagents and containers can be deposited and safely disposed of at a later time.”
Conversely, used Trace Eye-D wipes that don’t contain drug residue present no safety hazard at all.
“If you’ve tested for drugs, you don’t want to take anything that might be contaminated with a narcotic and just throw it in the trash, but you’re not going to hurt the environment or a person if you drop one on the ground,” Goldstein said. “If it doesn’t get used and you throw it in the trash, it won’t negatively impact somebody if it gets on their clothing or hands. So that safety is a big factor as well.”
Another benefit is that efficacy against even residual amounts of drugs. In evaluating the Trace Eye-D product line before stocking it, Goldstein put that to the test: He asked a customer for access to their evidence room and wiped the outside of a sample baggie of drugs. The wipe repeatedly detected the drug within from the outside.
He also tried all three of the wipes on some seized scales and found the scales often had residues from more than one illegal substance.
“With the pouch tests, you need a bigger sample, so that was very interesting,” Goldstein noted. “Now when we go talk to customers, we say, ‘Do you have any drugs in your evidence room? Let’s go try one out.’”
All the above factors, Goldstein notes, suit the Trace Eye-D wipes for use in corrections environments as well as police. “Even a brand-new corrections officer can be up to speed just by reading the instructions on the box,” he added. “There are a lot of places where they could be testing for drugs, but people don’t know how to do it. This is really well positioned not only for experienced users but new users to drug testing.”
A fourth benefit is the wipes’ efficacy within a wide range of temperatures. Users from the bottom of Texas to the top of Minnesota can use them in nearly any conditions.
NEW WAYS WITH OLD SCIENCE
When the fentanyl epidemic eventually abates, it’ll likely be replaced by another ascendant scourge – possibly a familiar one like cocaine or meth coming back around. And whatever’s most popular, officers will still need to presumptively identify all the major illegal drugs in the field. The need for products to do that won’t be diminishing soon.
Wipes do that safely, simply and effectively and can be an effective tool for identification, arrest and initiating justice against those purveyors.
“As a developer and manufacturer, we think we’re on to something with this,” Baden said. “And we have a track record to prove we can adapt new ways of doing things with old science.”
For more information, visit Trace Eye-D.
