The Canadian Families and Corrections Network has been kind enough to give us permission to distribute their flyer entitled:

SUGGESTIONS FOR FAMILIES CONCERNING THE ION SCAN AND STEPS TO FOLLOW IN THE EVENTUALITY OF A «FALSE/POSITIVE» DETECTION (English & French)

Please make sure you download it and read it if you visit a prison.

A word of warning on that Ive recently found out about: many of the travel wipes that people have been using to make sure their hands are clean before going in for a visit are causing a false positive. So avoid any wipes that have 'chlorine-bases'. Basically they are the prepackaged wipes. Instead use hot water and lots of soap. If you have to, bring a thermas with hot water, a clean face cloth and a bar of pure soap, not perfumed or other additives.
Note: If you are bringing a baby with you, do not clean its bottom with baby wipes on the day of the visit.

Also do not fill your car with gas just before a visit. Try to do it the day before. The gasoline fumes can cause a false positive and they get in your cloths and skin pours.

Hand lotions and creams, especially those containing hydrocortisone and perfumes, habitually cause false positive ion scanner results as can the air fresheners used in bathrooms.

Of course paper currency is a common source of contamination and false positive. Try to limit contact with money by putting your money in a plastic bag for food during visits, but pack it the day before. Anything you need to spend, do it also the day before. Try to use interact or a credit card on the day of the visit. If you have a long trip, consider bringing your own drinks and food for the way up there so you dont have to handle money.

By far, the most common cause of false positive scanner results is the dirty machine.

If you should test positive and you know you're clean, insist that the tester try it on himself/herself.

Another thing to note is that new clothing should not be worn unless you have washed it first. I have heard of and experienced positives while wearing new clothing.

Hello i found this information very usefull and informative thank you for letting others know .....my mans got me all paranoid about this testing machine thingie.

What about when you test positive for prescription drugs?
I had my first experience with this POS machine today and she kept testing, since I knew I was clean when she swabbed me for the thired time I said if it's negative why do you keedp trying and she says in a sort of snarkey way "It's positive, I'm trying to find a negative" Then she tells me that it's for a legal prescription and demands my DL. She says "Oh yeah' in a super accusatory way, hands me back my licence and lets me go into my open visit.
What's this about?
If there was something so special on my licence why did they let me in, she humiliated the hell out of me (for a freaking prescription) and scared me so if I wasn't such a bitch I probably would be to scared to go back.
I wish I had asked her why she wanted to swab my licence or what all the results were but I didn't.
Am I going to encounter problems in the future?
If I tested positive why did they let me visit? I just got a wallet from a second hand store, but I'm assuming there was nothing on there since they let me in.

I can sympathize with you. I've been to hell and back with the treatment I've received re: ionscanners. I have often tested postive for a drug I have never used in my life. The rude, disrespectful behaviour of some prison staff is deplorable. They would never get away with it anywhere else. It seems like nobody cares what goes on in prison. Hang in there.

How the hell do you test positive for opium on your shoes. My husband, myself and sister in law went to see my brother on Saturday. It was a social so there were dogs there to sniff your car and you. My husbands friend left his jacket in the car. My husband forgot to take it out and there was dope in it. The funny thing is that the stupid dog missed it completely and tried to eat my apple. The correctional officers then called the RCMP and she was such an ass. We explained the situation to here and she was laughing and saying we were lying. We told her if she didn't believe us to strip search us then. My husband even offered to try on the jacket to prove it wasn't his since his friend is quite much smaller. Then my husband hit positive on the IONScan for opium. The thing is they tested his hands and it came negative. Then they tested his shoes and bottom of his pants. What the hell these machines are not even accurate? Now he might not be able to visit. They kicked my brother off the drug free unit and who knows what else they will do. Some of these people are corrupt. My husband and I are hard workers with no criminal record but I felt like a criminal on Saturday. They tried to convince us that the pot was ours and it was only maybe 1 gram. They figured we were gonna slingshot it over the fence. They want it so nobody gets visitors, so they can break down our loved ones more so they will lose all hope. Don't they have the same rights as us?

Other tips...
Do not wear clothes that have been recently drycleaned and you just took off the plastic bag before visit. If you have anything dry cleaned, remove the plastic as soon as you get it home.

The best solution to use to wash your hands and wipe down your clothes is RUBBING ALCOHOL. I buy the alcohol wipes from Walgreens and bring those with me to wipe my hands before I go to check in. I keep a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol in my trunk (along with the alcohol wipes) to spray on my clothes before I go up to visit. This will not harm your clothes unless you are wearing silk or fancy material. I bring my own pens (cheap ones) and wipe it down and use it to sign in and for my own paperwork. Leave the pen there. DO NOT touch anything including the door handles, desk top, railings etc. Use your shirt to open the door or an alcohol wipe.

One thing I see constantly is false positives because of perfume. I know you ladies want to smell nice but that could be the problem with false positives since some places run that scanner over your clothes too.

If you take in rolls of quarters, spray the rolls with the alcohol the night before. I just put them in a brand new baggie and sprayed inside the baggie.

Clean your ID or drivers license with an alcohol wipe. Some places run the scanner over your ID also. If in doubt, clean it with rubbing alcohol.

I know this works as I did it for 2 1/2 years without a problem.

Good luck!!!

They want it so nobody gets visitors, so they can break down our loved ones more so they will lose all hope. Don't they have the same rights as us?

I agree 100%!

I can sympathize with you. I've been to hell and back with the treatment I've received re: ionscanners. I have often tested postive for a drug I have never used in my life. The rude, disrespectful behaviour of some prison staff is deplorable. They would never get away with it anywhere else. It seems like nobody cares what goes on in prison. Hang in there.
Same here.....:angry: