Testing for drugs in your system: what, why and how
Why am I being tested for drugs?
Drug use, including alcohol and certain medicines, can affect your ability to concentrate and perform work properly; so employers may test, for certain jobs, due to concerns about safety. Some employers also feel that any illegal activity that their staff are involved in reflects badly on the company.
Those receiving drug treatment may have been tested initially to confirm problem use, and then to check compliance with treatment and as a basis to recognise and reward success.
What are the different ways of testing for drugs?
There are many different tests for finding out if someone has taken drugs in the last few days or even weeks and some more accurate than others, but most drugs can be detected. The tests differ in:
how accurate they are
the test procedure and what they test – the most common sample tested is urine, but hair, blood, saliva and sweat can also be tested,
how specific they are – some tests can be positive if certain foods or legal medicines have been consumed, and
the drugs that they detect
Additionally, the type of drug and length of time since the drug was taken affects whether the test being used will detect the drug or not.
It is important to remember that it is possible for a test to give a false positive or negative result.
How long will a drug remain detectable in my system?
This depends on which drug you are talking about, how much has been taken, how often it has been taken and what method is being used to test for the drug.
The list below shows the number of days a urine drug test will continue to show positive after you have taken a drug. These times can differ depending on what testing kit is used, so this list is only a very general guide. For example, most tests for <u>ecstasy</u> will normally report positive for at least one day after the ecstasy was taken, but some tests will also report positive for up to 4 days after use.
Further laboratory testing may be needed to exactly identify which drug has been taken. For example, further testing may be needed to confirm whether a positive result for opiates was due to <u>heroin</u> use or an over-the-counter headache medicine.
Alcohol 12 - 24 hours
Amphetamine 2 - 3 days
Cannabis 2 – 7 days – 1 month (for regular users)
Cocaine 12 hours – 3 days
Crystal Meth 2 - 3 days
Diazepam 1 - 2 days
Ecstasy 2 - 4 days
GHB up to 24 hours
Heroin 1 - 2 days
Ketamine 5 - 7 days
LSD 2 - 3 days
Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybin) up to 8 hours
Methadone 2 days
Steroids 14 days (oral) - 1 month (injected)
Temazepam 1 - 2 days (longer after injecting)
What happens if I refuse to take a drug test? What happens If I test positive
Because of the complex issues involved, FRANK cannot provide legal advice. However, both Citizen’s Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk and Community Legal Advice www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk (0845 345 4 345) are good forms of information and support.
