Can your DNA be used against you?

http://www.knowable.com/a/18-black-people-reveal-the-most-overtly-racist-thing-theyve-ever-experienced/p-2

4. Riding in a car with my cousin, some cops pull us over and wants to search the car. We were young and just assumed they could do that…

http://www.propublica.org/article/dna-dragnet-in-some-cities-police-go-from-stop-and-frisk-to-stop-and-spit

Valutsky told them there had been a string of car break-ins recently in the area. Then, after questioning them some more, he made an unexpected demand: He asked which one of them wanted to give him a DNA sample.

After a long pause, Adam, a slight 15-year-old with curly hair and braces, said, “Okay, I guess I’ll do it.” Valutsky showed Adam how to rub a long cotton swab around the inside of his cheek, then gave him a consent form to sign and took his thumbprint. He sealed Adam’s swab in an envelope. Then he let the boys go.

Telling the story later, Adam would say of the officer’s request, “I thought it meant we had to.” …

Private DNA databases have multiplied as testing technology has become more sophisticated and sensitive, enabling labs to generate profiles from so-called “touch” or “trace” DNA consisting of as little as a few skin cells. Automated “Rapid DNA” machines allow police to analyze DNA right at the station in a mere 90 minutes. Some states allow “familial searching” of databases, which can identify people with samples from family members. New software can even create composite mugshots of suspects using DNA to guess at skin and eye color.

Strict rules govern which DNA samples are added to the FBI’s national database, but they don’t apply to the police departments’ private databases, which are subject to no state or federal regulation or oversight…

In 2012, New York became the first state to require DNA collection from those convicted of any crime, not just violent ones, and at least 29 states now authorize collection from anyone arrested for certain crimes…

Blackledge said building a private database also allowed the city to collect more DNA from juveniles…

Since 2007, the District Attorney’s office in Orange County, California, has offered certain non-violent offenders the chance to have their charges dismissed in exchange for contributing cheek swabs to a special separate DNA database — a “spit and acquit” program, as the local media nicknamed it. As of mid-August, according to the DA’s office, over 145,000 people had voluntarily donated their DNA to this database…

Police in Branford, Connecticut, draw a different line in collecting DNA. They’re instructed to request DNA from people they merely observe acting inexplicably or strangely…

West Melbourne police say they’ve collected “abandoned DNA” from chewing gum or cigarette butts left by people who refused to sign consent forms…

Under comments:

bdaly • 3 days ago
Has anyone considered how much medical info your DNA has? Imagine the damage that could be done to you if that info were to fall into the hands of insurance companies or potential employers. It’s not like these databases are unhackable.

http://www.genome.gov/10002328/genetic-discrimination-fact-sheet/

Genetic discrimination occurs if people are treated unfairly because of differences in their DNA that increase their chances of getting a certain disease. For example, a health insurer might refuse to give coverage to a woman who has a DNA difference that raises her odds of getting breast cancer. Employers also could use DNA information to decide whether to hire or fire workers.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, also referred to as GINA, is a new federal law that protects Americans from being treated unfairly because of differences in their DNA that may affect their health. The new law prevents discrimination from health insurers and employers. The President signed the act into federal law on May 21, 2008. The parts of the law relating to health insurers will take effect by May 2009, and those relating to employers will take effect by November 2009.

The law protects people from discrimination by health insurers and employers on the basis of DNA information. The law does not cover life insurance, disability insurance and long-term care insurance.

http://www.yahoo.com/news/pot-breathalyzer-hits-street-115944220.html

American police have for the first time used a marijuana breathalyzer to evaluate impaired drivers, the company behind the pioneering device declared Tuesday, saying it separately confirmed its breath test can detect recent consumption of marijuana-infused food. The two apparent firsts allow Hound Labs to move forward with plans to widely distribute its technology to law enforcement in the first half of next year, says CEO Mike Lynn…

Though breathalyzers are familiar roadside tools, there are other options for officers looking to rapidly test a person for marijuana or other drugs, including increasingly accepted roadside oral fluid tests or — potentially early next year — a futuristic fingerprint-sweat test.

Dr. Paul Yates, a forensic scientist and business development director at U.K.-based Intelligent Fingerprinting, says the sweat-test devices — which can be calibrated to specific thresholds for marijuana and other types of drugs including cocaine and opiates — can indicate drug use in near-term windows…

Duffy Nabors, vice president for sales and marketing at Smartox, says the company has received inquiries from law enforcement departments in California, Colorado and Texas interested in roadside use of the metabolite test, and he expects law enforcement will be among the first American buyers…

The DrugTest 5000 — one of a handful of similar products — indicates if marijuana or other types of drugs are present in a suspect’s saliva. The company counts the New York Police Department, the Nevada Highway Patrol and Oklahoma tribal police among its customers.

Shaffer says the test detects THC in a user’s saliva for roughly 2-6 hours after they consumed the drug, though a heavy user once tested positive 24 hours later. The test only indicates the presence of THC and does not quantify the amount, though like the Intelligent Fingerprinting technology can be calibrated to a specific threshold…

https://painkills2.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/patients-wrongfully-labeled-by-ameritox-drug-tests/

Now, if you’ve read all of the above information, how do you feel about this:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-justice-dept-push-prosecutors-opioid-crisis-usa-134410768.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department will enlist federal prosecutors to help fight the nation’s opioid crisis by sharing information on overprescribing doctors and coordinating with public health officials to address addiction, USA Today reported on Friday…

Lynch said sharing information about physicians tied to prescription drug abuse could help authorities better identify drug traffickers and the routes they use, the report said, adding that working with local health officials will help give equal attention to prevention and treatment efforts…

She said the department would issue the new plan next week in a memo to its 94 U.S. attorney offices…

Tell me, how are federal attorneys going to “work” with local health officials in regards to prevention and treatment efforts? What do attorneys and the justice system have to do with addiction and health care? Are the attorneys going to give patients free legal advice?

To me, this little tidbit of information from Attorney General Loretta Lynch has to do with the PDMPs. There’s been a push to connect all state databases into a federal database that’s accessible across state lines. Like the FBI has a national database for DNA. “Coordinating with public health officials” might mean that U.S. attorneys are going to require states (doctors, government employees, pharmacists) to input the information into the PDMPs, making their use mandatory.

What does this mean for chronic and intractable pain patients? Looks like the federal government has taken the criminalization of opioids to the next level. Perhaps the U.S. Attorney’s Office is getting tired of waiting for the DEA to make a difference.

If you have a DNA test, make sure you read the release forms. Don’t sign a form that says the lab can share or sell your DNA information, and make sure you see HIPAA language. I’m not saying these things will protect you, but that’s all we’ve got.

http://www.nationalpainreport.com/genetic-testing-may-provide-faster-path-to-the-right-fibromyalgia-medication-8831433.html

Someday in the not-so-distant future, before your health care provider decides which medication to prescribe for your fibromyalgia symptoms, they might first swab your cheek for a few cells and send them off for genetic tests. The genetic data hidden in those cells might reveal which medications you are likely to get benefit from, and which to avoid due to higher chance of side effects.

It sounds futuristic, but in fact this technology is available now, though it has not been widely adopted by medical providers. Testing for a person’s gene-drug interactions is called “pharmacogenetics,” and is a rapidly expanding field with multiple companies now offering panels of tests targeted to different illnesses…