Pass Your Drug Test

You have just been asked to take a drug test at your place of employment or for a new job offer, so here are some tips on how to pass your drug test. The amount of notice you may be given can vary from a few minutes to a few days. What you do to prepare for the test may depend on the amount of time you have been given before the test. If you fail the test you could lose your job or lose the job offer.

There are several types of tests used to screen drugs. EMIT (Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique) urine testing generates a four to 34% false positive rate, but it is the most common one employers use. RIA (Radioimmunoassay) urine testing is used by the military and is very sensitive. TRIAGE has been shown to have 50% false positives on urine that is drug free. TLC (Thin Layer Chromotographer) is not very reliable. GC/MS (Gas Chromotographer/Mass Spectrometer) is over 99.8% accurate, very expensive, and used to confirm positive test results.

Hair follicle drug testing uses about 50 strands of hair about 1 1/2” from the scalp. It can detect the use of drugs within the last two to six months. If your hair is short, hair from any part of the body can be used. People who have dark hair are ten to 50 times more likely to have a positive result. Sweat patch drug testing is tamper proof and mostly used on people who are on parole or probation. Saliva drug testing has recently been approved by the FDA. It can detect cannibinoids in saliva within four to ten hours after the person has smoked a marijuana cigarette. Blood testing is the most expensive, intrusive, but the most accurate test. It is mostly used in accidents and life insurance or health insurance examinations. Blood testing can detect marijuana use up to six hours after use and as long as 22 hours after use, but is not detectable after that.

How long drugs stay in your body varies and is determined by your metabolism, your weight, how much you used, how long you have been using it, the type of drug you used, your health, and how many fluids you have ingested. The following are general estimates of the length of time that drugs may stay in your body: opium, morphine, codeine, heroin, two to four days; vicodin, one to six days; methadone, six to twelve days; oxycodone, percodan, percoset, eight to 24 hours; cocaine, two to five days; amphetamines, one to two days; LSD, eight to 24 hours; PCP, two to four days; marijuana, THC, two days to eleven weeks; and psilocybin, two to five days.

Of course, the best way to pass a drug test is not to use any drugs in the first place. But, if you have used drugs, here are a few tips to help you pass the drug test. First of all, some of the things that don't work are aspirin, ammonia, bleach, Drano, niacin, orange juice, Visine and vinegar. Some of the things that do work are: drinking two quarts of water a day for several days before the test; using a urine sample from later in the day and catching it midstream; exercising and getting in a sauna (drinking lots of water while you do this); stopping exercise two days before your test to cut down on the amount of THC released in your urine that has been stored in your fat cells; and avoiding medications for 48 to 72 hours before the test. There are many products on the market that profess to detox you before a test. Be sure to check out the validity of the claims different companies make about their products before trying them.

If you do test positive, be sure to question the testing procedures: was the urine sample properly marked, does the testing lab have high quality equipment, did you forget to report any medications you might have taken that would cause a false positive, or anything else you can think of to cast doubt on the sample that was tested. Just remember, abstinence is the best way to pass the test. Good luck!