How does NIDA and the court system view the validity of this new test?
NIDA (The National Institute on Drug Abuse) actually is NOT the institute that funded the original research for FAEEs in meconium. It was the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) that provided USDTL with the grant funds to develop the MecStatSM EtOH test. This test has become the de facto standard for laboratory diagnosis of fetal alcohol exposure and is in routine use all over the United States and Canada. Courts have held that MecStatSM EtOH tests meet both the Fry and Daubert standards and the results are admissible in adversarial proceedings.
