Employers carrying out drug-testing procedures are always putting their faith in the system, assuming that the average testing methods are sufficient for hiring only the best, most stable employees.
However, we’ve recently exposed the truth on some of these supposed fail-safe techniques, giving us further insight on drug testing that everyone, employers and employees alike, should be aware of.
1. Work safety is DEFINITELY jeopardized by illicit drug use on site.
Many have previously believed that drug use and/or abuse might not affect a workplace environment enough to create an actual threat to their safety. However, the effects of drugs can always make an impact on safety measures on the job, despite any opinions on the contrary. Multiple studies have found that drug use can directly create an unsafe work environment. In fact, alcohol and drugs are the culprit for one in five deaths on the job. The National Safety Council reports that up to eighty percent of employees injured in drug-related accidents at work are the sober co-workers, as opposed to the drug users themselves.
Those who indulge in drugs or alcohol are three and a half times more likely to be part of a workplace incident than other workers who are sober on the job, and these findings aren’t just from workplace studies conducted in office settings, but can be seen through real-world examples too.
One case surrounded the Southern Pacific Railroad, differentiating accident rates before and after issuing all employees to undergo a drug testing program. The results were staggering, showing a 71.2% decrease in incidents involving injury or death after initiating the testing.
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2. Marijuana use does NOT show up on drug screenings for months or years after use.
The effects of marijuana use on the user can differ greatly, but in reality, many cases show it’s only present for less than a week’s worth of time. Misinformation has consistently been shared, stating that marijuana 
could stay in a person’s system for months or even years, which is simply untrue. Depending on the strain and concentration of cannabis used, even a chronic user will most likely only test positive in a urine test for up to seven days, maximum. Sometimes, in rare cases, users can test positive up to 10-21 days after the last inhale, and some others will only test positive after a mere 3-7 days. However, most common effects of marijuana use dissipate within a week’s time.
3. A drug or alcohol abuser DOES have the ability to beat a random drug test.
There are various resources available online that tout their ability to help a user beat the system and get negative results on a drug test. While they aren’t always full-proof, it has been known to work on occasion.
To start, there are diluting agents.Due to drug tests relying on stronger concentrations of drugs or alcohol in the body through the urine, anything that can dilute the sample will provide a greater chance at achieving negative results.Some users try drinking an abundance of water or fruit juice, and elevating the amount of vitamin C in their liquids to taint the initial specimen. There are also substituting agents available, such as freeze-dried or synthetic urine you can buy through vendors. They accomplish this by breaking up any metabolite in the urine sample (like nitrite or glutaraldehyde), which can then lead to inconclusive results.
4. Drug tests CAN give “false positive” results, but any possible outside factors in the results are quickly substantiated by professionals.
Sometimes, other varieties of substances like prescription drugs or even the occasional absorption of nutrients from poppy seeds can flag drug test results as positive. However, this issue can sufficiently be ruled out by officials before any ‘false’ results are wrongfully reported. Medical review officers investigate any possible bad results, and conduct evaluations themselves to validate any misconstrued information. The officer will review the positive results with the employee, and if the person gives a justifiable reason for scoring positive that legitimately shows they’re free of actual drugs or alcohol, the last report will always show as a negative drug screen for that employee. Initial screenings can be sensitive, and the medical officers understand this. To deal with this issue, accredited labs have now taken to using a chromatographic, which is a mass spectrometry confirmation test that overrules any non-specific drug testing that may lead to false positives. So, one way or another, the true results will still be uncovered and verified for each employee.
In the end, learning more about popular drug testing methods can only lead to a greater understanding of the importance of its merit in the workplace, and its effects on job sites overall.
