Tag Archives: Alcohol monitoring

Alcohol Monitoring Ankle Bracelet Can Give False Positives

Posted on February 8, 2013   |   by Lundin Law PLLC

The alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet, commonly known as SCRAM, which is being ordered by courts all over Washington as a method of monitoring DUI defendants, can give positive results for alcohol even if a defendant has not had a single drink.

The device, called a ”Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor,” or SCRAM for short, takes the form of a bulky ankle bracelet and tests a person’s blood alcohol level through perspiration.  It wirelessly updates the monitoring company or probation every 30 minutes. Judges all over Seattle, King County, and Washington State have been quick to adopt this technology as a way to ensure that DUI defendants are not consuming alcohol in violation of their court orders.

Probation and EtG Urine Testing

Posted on October 24, 2012   |   by Lundin Law PLLC

If you are placed on probation for a DUI arrest in Washington state, one of the conditions is often not to consume alcohol. Probation and your alcohol treatment provider are given great latitude in enforcing that order, and most do so by requiring urinalysis (UA) tests.

Most people believe that they can pass a urinalysis if they have not been consuming alcohol recently. That used to be true but many treatment providers and probation officers are now utilizing Ethylglucuronide (“EtG”) Urine tests. EtG urine testing detects alcohol metabolites in your urine. Depending on the type of screening that is performed some studies suggest that an EtG test can detect alcohol metabolites in your urine as far back as 80 hours from the time the alcohol entered your system.