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CLA: ABUSED DRUGS
DRUG ABUSE
Drug abuse affects all racial, ethnic, geographic, age and socio-economic groups. No group is immune to its potentially devastating effects. Denial by the abuser that any damage is being done in his/her life is a central obstacle to returning to a healthy lifestyle. For the adolescent, denial also hinders development of his/her full human potential, as well as damaging his/her body and social relationships. To become drug free, the first step must be to confront the reality of drug abuse in the person’s life.
SPECIMEN COLLECTION
In that this test in the Community Laboratory Access program is intended for medical/non-legal use, we do not require an observed urine specimen collection for adults. For adolescents, because denial often interferes with proper specimen collection, it may be necessary for the parent to personally observe the specimen collection process. We suggest that a parent accompany the potential abuser into the rest room for an observed urine specimen collection. We strongly suggest that you personally observe your child urinating, that you observe the specimen leave the body and enter the specimen collection cup, and that nothing else is placed in the cup.
URINE DRUG TEST
PRL will first evaluate the specimen carefully to make sure it is, in fact, a urine specimen. We go to great lengths to detect a multitude of potential adulterants, which individuals often add to their specimens in an attempt to interfere with the drug test results.
PRL will perform a series of tests to identify the 5 most common illegal drugs: amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, and PCP. The drug test is a two-stage process. If the screening results are positive, the specimen will be re-sampled and a confirmation test will be performed. The confirmation tests utilize gas chromatography linked to a mass spectrometer (GC/MS), recognized as the gold standard in abused drug testing. The GC/MS test is extremely sensitive and it is virtually 100% specific. In other words, over-the-counter medications will not cause a false positive with the GC/MS confirmation test. PRL also may utilize Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) as a confirmation technique. TLC, while not as specific as GC/MS, offers the advantage of detecting a wider variety of drugs than GC/MS.
UNDERSTANDING URINE DRUG TEST RESULTS
Positive urine drug tests indicate that the individual was exposed to the drug in question. Positive urine drug test results do not mean that the individual was under the influence of the drug at the time of specimen collection. Drug exposure may have been within hours to days or perhaps weeks prior to specimen collection. This is because some drugs clear the body rapidly, (Amphetamines) while others accumulate in the body and take a long time to eliminate (Marijuana).
Negative results do not necessary mean that the individual tested does not have a drug problem. It is possible that drugs have been cleared from the individual’s body, or that if present, its concentration may be too low to measure. It is also possible that a drug that was not initially looked for is currently being abused. These circumstances will require further attention.
WHAT NEXT?
Abused drug problems are complicated by many factors -- the age of the individual, the addictive nature of the drug, the extent of drug use, the circumstances, the family environment, etc. Whether the result of the above screening tests is positive or negative, we recommend that you seek professional counseling from a substance abuse specialist that is certified by a reputable accrediting agency. We have listed some of local counseling agencies for your convenience.
Thanks for using Physicians Reference Laboratory’s Community Laboratory Access option to assist you in confronting this difficult challenge.