Another War On Drugs Failure

[AccountingDrone]

won't help- 99% of the time, for ( say) a pre-employment drug screening, they usually just look at the non-zero number for the level of opiate in your blood, and cancel the job offer. Then, you're screwed, - you need to start all over again looking for jobs.

Which is why I list my prescription meds, I have opioids and benzos that I am legally allowed to have in my bloodstream. They can't withhold a job offer because of it. <shrug> I just wish that they would admit that the whole war on drugs was just as big a fail as the alcohol ban was, and re-examine the whole system used.

Why yes, I do think people should be treated as ill and not as criminals, addiction is a health issue, not a willpower issue in most cases.

[Rageaholic]

Which is why I list my prescription meds, I have opioids and benzos that I am legally allowed to have in my bloodstream. They can't withhold a job offer because of it. <shrug> I just wish that they would admit that the whole war on drugs was just as big a fail as the alcohol ban was, and re-examine the whole system used.

Why yes, I do think people should be treated as ill and not as criminals, addiction is a health issue, not a willpower issue in most cases.

That's another problem. Don't employees normally have the right to keep medical information confidential? Yet, they still do drug tests. And if something shows up positive, you have to reveal that information if you want the job.

[wolfie]

It may be different for other industries, but for anyone who drives commercially in the U.S. (including those based out-of-country - it's a requirement to be allowed to cross the border in a big rig) the employer doesn't do the testing. Instead, drivers are sent to a facility that does nothing but tests, and you disclose your medications to the person operating the facility.

If the results show metabolites for a particular "family" of drugs, and the concentration is consistent with prescribed medications, the facility reports "negative" to your employer.

There are a couple caveats: The "F" in "FMCSA" stands for "federal", and the feds don't recognize medical marijuana. As a result, prescriptions for MMJ are not "adjusted" in the manner I described. Prescriptions for Marinol (THC in pill form, recognized by the feds - but from what I've heard, not effective) are "adjusted". Also, if you've been prescribed opiates or opiods, although the results will be "adjusted", you are still "out of service" until you stop taking them.

TL;DR - employer doesn't see the actual results, testing agency reports "negative" if the concentrations on a positive test are consistent with prescribed medication.

[crashhelmet]

TL;DR - employer doesn't see the actual results, testing agency reports "negative" if the concentrations on a positive test are consistent with prescribed medication.

This is it, exactly. If you're on something that will flag in a test, you need to tell the screener prior to taking the test. It also helps to bring the drugs in to prove that you are on them and have a prescription.