Drugs are included in many criminal justice cases in the United States, so the need to have well-trained analysts is important as well as having the correct equipment and tests to analyze medications correctly. Scientific working groups exist for many of the different disciplines of forensic science, including drugs. The NAS report was recently released outlining what changes should be made in the forensic science arena. There is an ever-increasing amount of drugs in the world because new ones are constantly being created, so there is a long future for this section of forensic science. The methods for analyzing drugs and identifying them are microcrystalline tests, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectrophotometry. Microcrystalline tests are more specific than color tests and use the polarizing microscope. Gas chromatography occurs when the sample is separated into its different components based on size and chemical structure. Mass spectrometry fragments molecules in the sample, and this fragmentation pattern helps in the identification of the substance against a known standard. Spectrophotometry identifies substances by measuring how they absorb different wavelengths of light, including; UV, visual and infrared. They are all used to decipher the chemical compositions of the sample to determine what type of drug is contained in the substance, including also the degree of purity of the substance. The scientific working group for medicines is SWGDRUG. They establish guidelines for professionals who practice drug analysis. Some guidelines include training and continuing education, sample schedules and procedures, and reporting, to name a few. The training guidelines dictate what you need to say in the middle of the paper regarding medications to be continuously analyzed. With technological advances, identification is becoming easier and more precise. The vast array of drugs will keep this type of analysis alive for decades to come. Most fields of forensic science have a scientific working group that sets guidelines and according to the NAS report the SWGDRUG sets impeccable standards and if followed should produce implemented and reliable results. Works cited by the National Research Council (USA). (2009). Strengthening forensic science in the United States: A path forward. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Saferstein, Richard. (2012). Forensic science: from the crime scene to the crime laboratory. Prentice Hall. United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. (2013). Scientific working group for the analysis of recommendations on seized drugs (swgdrug)..