Member Feature Bronwyn Weis-Working To Put Drug Traffickers Behind Bars Bronwyn Weis says busy hands are pretty normal inside the state drug lab. “A lot of the ladies have hobbies like crocheting and knitting and quilting,” Weis said. “One of the ladies says I basically do pattern matching at work, then I do pattern matching at home.”
“It’s a really neat thing and really nerve-wracking all at the same time when you’re in the courtroom,” she said. “It’s like your final exam.” The job she’s doing becomes more important every day as illegal narcotics are being trafficked and produced throughout California. But the state has been looking into outsourcing her job, which would put a financial burden on cities and counties currently getting the state’s services for free.
But it’s those busy hands that separate the good guys from the bad guys. “It is the middle step in a long system of justice,” Weis said. “We’re somewhere in the middle of public safety and law enforcement.” Weis has been working for the Department of Justice for eight years, the last four in the state drug lab in Riverside. Her job is to identify confiscated illegal drugs. Whether it’s deciphering marijuana from a simple house plant or something much more dangerous, she’s doing the CSI stuff that could make or break a drug case. “I see methamphetamine come through this lab all the time,” Weis said. “It’s the drug of violence and it can alter someone’s psychology by altering the chemicals in their nervous system.” Weis says accuracy is the most important thing, whether it’s in the drug lab or when she’s testifying in the courtroom.
“Outsourcing is a real concern, I think, for objectivity,” Weis said. “And it’s a concern because I don’t think it’s possible for a private group to do our work objectively.” Which could mean more crime and more drugs on the streets. It’s why Weis works at the Department of Justice. For her, it’s all about upholding the law. “With this job, I feel like I’m on the right side of the law,” she said. Unit 11 member Bronwyn Weis analyzes illegal narcotics at the state crime lab in Riverside
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