Drug Tests Issue: False Positives

More and more companies are getting extra cautious and careful in hiring employees. If you are on a job hunt, chances are you were once or twice asked to pee in a cup. Because companies tend to dismiss applicants who tested positive on drug tests, applicants who are not even using prohibited drugs are anxious about the results. Even without using these drugs one can be deemed a drug user when he is read with a false positive result.

What is a false positive in drug tests?

Research shows that a considerable percentage of positive drug results are from individuals that are not using illicit drugs. This has always been an issue and always been a flaw in the process and accuracy of drug tests. Several factors can be determined with these false positives.

Some of the widely used OTC (over-the-counter) medications may result to a false positive. Ibuprofen and other cold medications are known to cause a red flag in drug tests. These OTC remedies contain substances and compounds that are present in some illicit drugs. The problem with drug tests is it just flags the presence of the substances but could not determine where and how the substances intruded the subjects’ systems.

Aside from these OTC medications, some vitamin B supplements can cause a false positive on drug tests. Riboflavin that are made with hempseed oil are known to cause tetrahydrocannabionol (THC) traces to show up on a drug test.

Drinking large volume of tonic water the night before a drug test will also result to a false positive. The result can be mistaken for a positive for opiates.

A science-based show called MythBusters also proved that eating a poppy-seed cake or a bagel can also result to a false positive in drug test. The result can be attributed to that of an opiate user result. Even though lab testers hold their ground that this could not happen a lot of people are still convinced that bagels or poppy cakes can be linked to having false positives.

Aside from the food and medicine we take, diseases can also cause false positive results. It has been recorded that certain conditions such as diabetes, liver disease and kidney infections may register as false positives for opiates.

What to do in case of false positive?

If you are certain that you have never used any illicit drugs, you can ask for the lab for a confirmatory test. This involves checking your urine sample for traces of banned drugs. This test will probably be more accurate for it is a second screening.