Drug test

Drug testing is a subject of a lot of controversy. Many people have argued that this is an invasion of privacy.

The NIDA 5

Federal government guidelines (by NIDA-The National Institute on Drug Abuse and SAMHSA-The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) require that companies who use professional drivers test their drivers for use of drugs. These tests generally test for 5 specific drugs:

1. Cannabinoids (marijuana, hash)
2. Cocaine (cocaine, crack, benzoylecognine)
3. Amphetamines (amphetamines, methamphetamines, speed)
4. Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
5. Phencyclidine (PCP)

DETECTION PERIODS

The following chart gives approximate detection periods for each substance by test type. The ranges depend on amount and frequency of use, metabolic rate, body mass, age, overall health, drug tolerance, and urine pH (see for more details)

SUBSTANCE	URINE	HAIR	BLOOD
Alcohol	6 to 24 h	n/a	unknown
Amphetamine	1 to 4 days	up to 90 days	unknown
Barbiturates	1 to 21 days	unknown	unknown
Benzodiazepines	1 to 42 days	unknown	unknown
Cannabis (single use)	48 to 72 h	up to 90 days	2 to 3 days
Cannabis (habitual use)	up to 12 wk	up to 90 days	2 weeks
Cocaine	4 to 5 days	up to 90 days	unknown
Codeine/Morphine	2 to 4 days	up to 90 days	unknown
Heroin	8 h	up to 90 days	unknown
Methamphetamine	3 to 5 days	up to 90 days	1 to 3 days
PCP	3 to 7 days	up to 90 days	1 to 3 days