Drug Testing in the Workplace
Workplace Drug Testing Employee Rights and Concerns (Cont.)
Part 3 of 4 is below. Drug detection times are on page
5, while drug testing cutoff levels are on page
6.
Drugs Screened in a Workplace Drug Test
Most of the illegal drugs and optionally, alcohol and several commonly-abused
prescription medications, are screened during workplace drug testing. See Workplace
Drug Testing Cutoff Levels for a list of drugs that are typically screened.
Drug Detection Time in a Workplace Drug Test
Drugs or the resulting chemical changes (metabolites) stay in your body
for some time after use, without intervention. How long after drug use
that a test can detect it, is called drug detection time.
Drug detection time depends on a variety of variables. Regardless, drug
detection time estimates have been worked out by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS).
Results of Passive Drug Use for a Workplace Drug Test
Passive drug use is innocent, unintentional use. For example,
incidentally inhaling ambient marijuana smoke at a rock concert is passive
use, as is accidentally absorbing a drug through the skin, such as by a
handling dollar bill that someone else rolled up to snort cocaine. The
same goes for ingesting poppy seeds, which can falsely test positive for
opiates.
But, you have little to worry about. Passive drug-user specimens typically
measure well below the cutoff levels that trigger failing drug test results.
For example, passive inhalation of marijuana smoke measures at about 5
ng/ml in a urine specimen, which is well below the typical, 50 ng/ml cutoff
level in an initial test. See Workplace
Drug Testing Cutoff Levels for more information.
Results of Prescription Medications for a Workplace Drug Test
Although workplace drug testing procedures typically account for it, valid
use of a prescription medication still might trigger positive test results
for a commonly-abused drug, depending on the medication. For example, a
prescription pain reliever that includes the narcotic codeine or morphine,
might cause you to fail workplace drug testing for opiates.
So, be sure to tell your "testers" if you are taking one or
more medications prescribed by a doctor. Also make sure they put it in
writing, if they don't give you the opportunity.
If you fail a drug test solely because you're taking a valid prescription
medication that you're not abusing, but your employer disciplines you for
it anyway, you might have grounds for a lawsuit. That's especially true
under the American's with Disabilities Act. Consult
a lawyer about that.
Next Page > Workplace Drug Testing
Employee Rights and Concerns (Cont.)
Drug Testing in the Workplace > 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6
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