DID I PASS?

The war on drugs has spawn useful techniques for detecting drug use. A drug screen may be requested for employment purposes or for court. A urine drug screen is the one most often used. If the urine screen is positive then another test of the sample is used to confirm the findings. If the result of the screen is negative all is well. However, this might not mean that the person has not used drugs. A minimum level is required to trigger the test. If the drug use does not reach this level the test results are negative even if there are small amounts of drugs in the person’s system. If the results are positive the person may have never used drugs but the test has shown a false positive.

A poppy seed bagel triggered a false positive on a drug test in Pittsburg Pa. According to a federal civil rights suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania a Pittsburgh-area couple’s newborn daughter was seized and held for five days. According to the suit, testing positive for opiates after eating poppy seeds is not an urban myth. Several courts have recognized the risks of a false positive due to common foods and medication. In a 2004 opinion, the Pennsylvania Superior Court noted that "eating poppy seeds can produce an opiate positive test result."

Heroin and cocaine can only be detected for a few hours after use, but their metabolites can be detected for several days in urine. The results vary with the particular test parameters. Marijuana can stay in a person’s system for weeks or even months depending on the metabolism of the individual being tested.

Drug users have attempted to hide or mask their drug use from the test. A very common method used to foil the test is to drink bleach. Most tests have another subtest looking for this. Another way is to use clean urine from someone who does not use drugs. Users often have a child furnish them a sample. They keep a clean specimen on their person in case a test is requested.

It can be difficult to use another person’s urine. An officer usually observes the person who is the object of the test produce the urine. So to get around this drug users have attempted to fool the observer. The internet sells all types of devises that were designed for this along with guaranteed clean urine. Several people have gone to jail after officers have discovered an apparatus.

We use to believe that hair testing was more reliable than urine testing. However, there have been several false positives on hairs sample test recently. Also a number of people who have tested negative using a hair follicle test have tested positive on the urine test.