Drug Facts, Questions & Answers

Drug Facts, Questions & Answers

What are the drug screening cutoff concentrations?
The SAMHSA cutoff levels are as follows:

Why is a drug test required?
The purposes of most drug testing (pre-employment, post-accident, school, random) is to detect the presence of drug use. Qualitative urine tests are used to quickly screen the sample for the presence of abused drugs. If the sample is positive for a certain drug, further testing takes place by sending the sample to our NATA accredited laboratory.

What is a drug screening test?
A screening test is a rapid test that gives you a visual results for presence or absence of drugs in the system. These are also called non-negative / negative tests interpreted by the number of lines that are present.

Do urine drug testing results hold up in court?
Rapid drug test only provides a preliminary test result. A more specific chemical method must be used in order to obtain a confirmed analytical result – at our NATA accredited Laboratory. Any result taken to court, must be confirmed through our Laboratory testing (Employers or Employess cost)

How long can drugs be detected in the urine?
Simple rule of thumb for most “street drugs” is about 2-3 days. It usually takes a few hours after drug use for drugs to be detected in the urine.

Is it possible to test positive for THC (Marijuana / Cannabis) from exposure to second hand smoke?
It is not! Urine concentrations of THC above the cut-off sensitivity level of the test, or a positive result, is possible only through use / inhalation. However, second hand smoke will be in the system, but not at the concentrations that would indicate drug abuse.

Can commonly used chemicals and substances such as vitamins, penicillin, aspirin, caffeine and acetaminophen (Tylenol), affect the results?
No – the results are not affected by these substances. Urine drug tests are substance and derivative metabolite specific. The commonly taken medications are chemically and structurally different after being metabolized by the body from the drugs being tested for and therefore, under most circumstances, they do not interfere with test results.

What if a employee takes prescription or over-the-counter drugs?
You should be aware of what your employee is taking, and what type of drug it is – This is usually on their medication decalaration (We do provide these on test day – But companies should train staff to add them onto it as soon as taking something) . For example, ADHD medications are amphetamines, so you will show positive in that drug category. Anti-anxiety medications are benzodiazapines. If your employee takes medication daily, you may want drug testing to be performed by a doctor.

Are there any legal medications that can trigger false positive results?
Yes there are drug specific medications that can cause interferences. The most common problem is the pseudoephedrine in many over-the-counter sinus and cold medications that can cause a positive result for methamphetamine. A GC/MS confirmation, is necessary to determine the source of the positive drug test result.

What is the difference between Methamphetamine and Amphetamine?
Methamphetamine is the parent drug. It metabolizes into amphetamine in the body. Both amphetamine and methamphetamine are potent symphathominetic agents. Methamphetamine and/or amphetamine are both excreted in the urine.

Are Morphine, Opiates, and Heroin the same kind of drug?
Yes, they are all tested using the Opiates test / sometimes also referred to as a Morphine test..

What are the common street names for the drugs?