Absolute Standards

Absolute Standards Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Chemical manufacturing
Founded	1990
Headquarters	Hamden , United States
Key people	John P. Criscio (CEO, President, Owner), Stephen J. Arpie (Director)
Products	Calibration chemicals, formerly pentobarbital (discontinued)
Number of employees	21 (2020)

Absolute Standards Inc. operates as a chemical company focused on producing calibration chemicals utilized in laboratory testing instruments. The firm has been reportedly identified as a supplier of execution drugs to the Federal government of the United States.

Based in Hamden, Connecticut, Absolute Standards was established in 1990 and maintains a compact workforce of 21 employees as of 2020. The leadership team features John P. Criscio, who holds the roles of CEO, President, and owner, along with Director Stephen J. Arpie.

Although the company is connected to the production of substances allegedly used in lethal injection protocols, Absolute Standards is not registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to manufacture controlled substances. This regulatory limitation confines its operations to supplying chemical standards rather than pharmaceutical products intended for human use.

Calibration Chemicals

Absolute Standards offers an extensive range exceeding 2,000 calibration chemical products designed for testing and analytical purposes in laboratories. Their distribution network covers all fifty U.S. states, multiple territories, and over thirty international markets.

Pentobarbital

The company submitted applications in 2018 and 2021 to register as a bulk manufacturer of pentobarbital, aiming to produce the compound for internal consumption and customer distribution. In May 2024, President John P. Criscio announced that manufacturing and sales of pentobarbital had been discontinued since December 2020, with no intentions to restart production.

Pentobarbital is medically employed to address conditions such as tension, anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy, seizures, and preoperative sedation. Nevertheless, Absolute Standards solely supplies chemical standards for laboratory testing and does not distribute pharmaceuticals intended for clinical or hospital administration.

Investigations

A 2020 Reuters report indicated suspicions that Absolute Standards was producing raw powdered pentobarbital on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, which contracts a pharmacy to convert it into injectable form. Director Stephen Arpie stated that the company does not know the end-use of its products.

In 2021, inquiries from congressional and state officials targeted Absolute Standards regarding its provision of pentobarbital potentially utilized in federal and state executions. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong requested information on the company's operations amid concerns about its role in supplying drugs used for capital punishment.

In 2024, the television show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver brought attention to claims that Absolute Standards supplied pentobarbital to the federal government. These claims were based on confidential informants and delayed DEA Freedom of Information Act requests related to death penalty documentation.

Furthermore, The Intercept examined correspondence between Absolute Standards and the South Carolina Department of Corrections following that state's announcement of pentobarbital acquisition for executions. The department cited state confidentiality laws protecting identities involved in execution processes. According to sources, Stephen Arpie and John Criscio reportedly acknowledged that Absolute Standards manufactured drugs intended for executions.