Drug Cut Off Levels To Pass A Drug Test

Are There Standard Drug Cut Off Levels In Drug Screens?

The Drug Cut Off Levels To Pass Drug Testing is a question many have to deal with in today's world. Drug cutoff levels are the minimum concentrations of drugs or metabolites that must be present in specimens, before labs will report the drug testing results as positive. How much of a drug labs can detect depends on drug detection times, frequency of use, type of specimen, drug testing method, metabolism, and other factors.

Labs that follow the Mandatory DEA Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), first conduct one or more initial screens followed by confirmatory tests.

On-site Drug Testing Devices (OTD's or field test kits) are increasingly used by clinics, law enforcement organizations and other agencies because of the immediacy of results.

What Are Drug Testing Cut Off Levels And What Do They Determine?

Drug testing cut off levels determines a specified presence of a drug or its metabolite in urine, blood saliva and/or hair. There is a minimum measurement applied to drug testing so that only traces of a drug or its metabolite above a specified level is reported as positive. This measure is known as a “cut-off level,” and it varies for each drug. For instance, if a cut-off level is set low, test results will come back with more “false positives” as some “passive” users could test positive. (For example, a low cut-off level could cause a positive result from consuming poppy seeds.) Conversely, a high cut-off level will result in more “false negatives,” and thus some users may go undetected.

What Drugs Do Drug Tests Detect?

Testing conducted according to SAMHSA’s guidelines checks for five illicit drugs:

• Amphetamines (meth, speed, crank, ecstasy)
• THC (cannabinoids, marijuana, hash)
• Cocaine (coke, crack)
• Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
• Phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust) What are cut-off levels and what do they determine?

How Is Drug Testing Conducted And How Accurate Is It?

Generally, most private employers have a fair amount of latitude in implementing drug testing as they see fit for their organization, unless they are subject to certain Federal regulations, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug-testing rules for employees in safety-sensitive positions.

However, Federal agencies conducting drug testing must follow standardized procedures established by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

While private employers are not required to follow these guidelines, doing so can help them stay on safe legal ground. Court decisions have supported following these guidelines, and as a result, many employers choose to follow them.

These Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing (also called SAMHSA’s guidelines) include having a Medical Review Officer (MRO) evaluate tests. They also identify the five substances in the Federal programs and require drug labs certified by SAMHSA.

The most common method of drug testing, urinalysis, can be done at the workplace (at a health unit, for example), a doctor’s office or any other site selected by the employer. An employee or applicant provides a sample to be tested. Usually precautions are taken, such as putting blue dye in the toilet and turning off the water supply, to prevent adulteration or substitution of specimens so that collection can be completed in privacy without any direct visual observation by another person.

When Are Drug Tests Conducted?

There are a variety of circumstances under which an organization may require a drug test. Following are the most common or widespread:

• Pre-Employment: Pre-employment testing is conducted to prevent hiring individuals who illegally use drugs. It typically takes place after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Applicants agree to be tested as a condition of employment and are not hired if they fail to produce a negative test.
• Reasonable Suspicion: Reasonable suspicion testing is similar to, and sometimes referred to, as “probable-cause” or “for-cause” testing and is conducted when supervisors document observable signs and symptoms that lead them to suspect drug use or a drug-free workplace policy violation.
• Post-Accident: Since property damage or personal injury may result from accidents, testing following an accident can help determine whether drugs and/or alcohol were a factor.
• Random: Random testing is performed on an unannounced, unpredictable basis on employees whose identifying information (e.g., social security number or employee number) has been placed in a testing pool from which a scientifically arbitrary selection is made.
• Periodic: Periodic testing is usually scheduled in advance and uniformly administered. Some employers use it on an annual basis, especially if physicals are required for the job.
• Return-to-Duty: Return-to-duty testing involves a one-time, announced test when an employee who has tested positive has completed the required treatment for substance abuse and is ready to return to the workplace.
• Other: Other types of tests are also used by some employers. For example, follow-up testing or post-rehabilitation testing is conducted periodically after an employee returns to the workplace upon completing rehabilitation for a drug or alcohol problem. It is administered on an unannounced, unpredictable basis for a period of time specified in the drug-free workplace policy. Another type of testing, blanket testing, is similar to random testing in that it is unannounced and not based on individual suspicion; however, everyone at a worksite is tested rather than a randomly selected percentage. Other types of testing include voluntary, probationary, pre-promotion and return-after-illness testing.

How Are Drug Cut Off Levels Determined?

A drug cutoff level is the least amount of a drug or resulting metabolites remaining in your body  that will cause you to fail a workplace drug testi. In other words, if you test at or above the cutoff level for a drug, you'll "fail" the test. Cutoff levels are measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml).

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