False Positive Drug Test

[LdiJ]

It was me looking at my client and stating: DUDE you really need to comprehend the idea that you are NOT supposed to be on ANY ILLEGAL drugs so the judge is not going to be impressed with your reasoning.

My client shut up at that point -- the client "forgot" that pot is not legal.

ETA: The point of the drug test in that case was to make sure the client was clean and it didn't matter what was tested positive because the penalty would have been the same.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about that one...sigh.

 

[Proserpina]

Yep...but if I really believed it was false, I would find a way to make it happen.

I'm not going to say it can't happen - obviously it can. But the chances of the same lab-tested hair follicle sample resulting in two false positives (the initial screening and the confirmation) are incredibly low.

Home kits are a different animal -they're fine to get a general idea but these are the tests that will have a much higher false positive rate (in all honesty I think they're a waste of money, but that's just me) and for the most part they can't always differentiate between two substances (think poppy seeds versus opiate); but samples taken and tested in hair follicle testing labs - who must follow stringent collection and analysis regulations (SAHMSA or CLIA) including a verifiable chain of custody - make the risk of false positive and/or contamination extremely low.

Again I do know that it's possible - it's just not at all likely.

(interestingly enough most labs also keep the samples and results for several months - some even years - in case of a disputed result or lawsuit)

So, what OP needs to do is either have that same sample analyzed again by the same lab (the odds of one sample resulting in FOUR false positives are astronomical), or use a different lab and a different sample.

(sidebar: Oddly enough there is one circumstance where hair follicle tests may be a little less reliable - some experts state that there are certain racial characteristics that increase the odds of a false positive for that race. But that's venturing into an entirely different wading pool!)

 

[windy.hess]

I dont think you have the whole story. Todays Drug Screens are to high tech. They screen for illegal substances. They also ask for a history of what prescription drugs you are taking or have taken. They rule those out of there findings. Why do you think Brittany Spears shaved her head. Kevin threanted her with hair folical testing to show the use to be able to remove the kids from the home.

 

[Isis1]

I dont think you have the whole story. Todays Drug Screens are to high tech. They screen for illegal substances. They also ask for a history of what prescription drugs you are taking or have taken. They rule those out of there findings. Why do you think Brittany Spears shaved her head. Kevin threanted her with hair folical testing to show the use to be able to remove the kids from the home.

that's not a fact. there are other ways to tell. she didn't pull out her finger and toe nails.

and K-fed would have ALSO failed. so what would be the point in that?

ugh. tabloid gossip snuck it's way here again. sorry OP.

 

[xylene]

that's not a fact. there are other ways to tell. she didn't pull out her finger and toe nails.

and K-fed would have ALSO failed. so what would be the point in that?

ugh. tabloid gossip snuck it's way here again. sorry OP.

whether it would have worked or not does not change that it was why she shaved her head.

People try lots of things to beat drug tests. Crazier things than that.

Threats of drug tests are an effective compliance device, even when no budget or will actually exists for such testing regimes.

 

[Proserpina]

I dont think you have the whole story. Todays Drug Screens are to high tech. They screen for illegal substances. They also ask for a history of what prescription drugs you are taking or have taken. They rule those out of there findings. Why do you think Brittany Spears shaved her head. Kevin threanted her with hair folical testing to show the use to be able to remove the kids from the home.

I know what you're getting at windy but it's honestly not as simple as you've said.

Pre-employment screening may or may not ask for a list of medications; there's no hard and fast rule. Some will ask for medication and/or prescription information only when there's a positive. Some will ask for the information before the initial screen takes place. If the confirmation test turns up positive then it's reported to the originator as a positive and the same generally applies to court-ordered testing.

It's not that they're testing for illegal substances per se - they're actually testing for certain metabolites/byproducts (there is a difference) and because there can be legitimate reasons why a particular metabolite is present in the hair, urine or blood, every positive test will need to be confirmed using a more sophisticated and infinitely more sensitive method. Conversely people (including employers and courts) rarely ask for confirmation of a false negative result.

Odd, that.


Re Britney.... if she was completely bald, she'd end up having blood and urine tested. Should she try to "cheat" (for want of a better word) she would be wise to note that probably in 99 times of 100 it becomes clear that an attempt has been made. In Britney's case we'd be looking for masking agents, adulteration, temperature variant, color, dilution, casts, presence of those nifty metabolites...it's quite the list. There are products available, yes - but trust me, it's a gamble. More and more labs are now also testing for specific masking agents (why people insist that aloe shampoo will make your hair test negative is beyond me).

I know we're really kind of straying off the topic but there's another point I don't think has been mentioned yet.

If your sample turns up a codeine metabolite and you have a legitimate prescription, this does not mean that you're out of trouble. Your sample will be expected to have levels of the metabolite within the normal therapeutic range and if yours are significantly higher you're busted. Sure, you could hire a medical expert to testify that your metabolism is grossly abnormal but don't expect it to get you out of trouble.

Cover stories are heard every day....like OG said, you'd be astonished at the sheer variety of implausible excuses

 

[Proserpina]

Im starting to think and be swayed that this might be an area I might want to get into .


I have been sorta "trained" in drug testing, not specifically hair folicle though (but most definately blood work)


My advice came from a little google and a little experience with seeing a drug test positive for cocaine and classroom discussion.

I have a perhaps unhealthy obsession with the FDA, drug trials and pathology lol.

MDConsult.com is your friend They used to give a free 30 day trial but these days they want you to pay for the whole shebang which makes it a tad annoying if you're only wanting the German Monologues (for example).

(and this is really straying from the point, but it's really nothing like NCIS and CSI would have us believe - I mean they can get a sample analyzed, identified and matched to person/skin/shoe/blood/hair/inside leg measurement/favourite flavor of ice-cream within an hour or so. That ain't happening on this planet )

 

[blondemama3]

I know the feeling

I am on random drug screens and do not use drugs in any form. I recently came back with a positive for cocaine drug screen but the state could not concusively tell the judge that it was cocaine that I tested positive for only that it was a ingredient used to make cocaine. My attorney belives it is a false positive since I had 12 negative drug screens before this one.

 

[Proserpina]

I am on random drug screens and do not use drugs in any form. I recently came back with a positive for cocaine drug screen but the state could not concusively tell the judge that it was cocaine that I tested positive for only that it was a ingredient used to make cocaine. My attorney belives it is a false positive since I had 12 negative drug screens before this one.

Though this really isn't your thread I do have one question.

Did your attorney request that the sample be retested?