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According
to a report by the Los Angeles Times New Service, a study of
161 prescription and over the counter medications showed
that 65 of them produced false positive results in the most
widely administered urine test. Ronald Siegel, a
psychopharmacologist at UCLA said 'The widespread testing
and reliance on tell-tale traces of drugs in the urine is
simply a panic reaction invoked because the normal
techniques for controlling drug use haven't worked very
well. The next epidemic will be testing abuse."
Substances that
cause False Positive Drug Test Results
THC - Substances or Conditions
which can cause false positives
Dronabinol (Marinol)
Ibuprofen; (Advil, Nuprin, Motrin, Excedrin IB etc)
Ketoprofen (Orudis KT)
Kidney infection (Kidney disease, diabetes) Liver Disease
Naproxen (Aleve)
Promethazine (Phenergan, Promethegan)
Riboflavin (B2, Hempseed Oil)
Amphetamines - Substances or Conditions which can
cause false positives
Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, propylephedrine, phenylephrine, or
desoxyephedrine
(Nyquil, Contact, Sudafed, Allerest, Tavist-D, Dimetapp, etc)
Phenegan-D, Robitussin Cold and Flu, Vicks Nyquil
Over-the-counter diet aids with phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim,
Accutrim)
Over-the-counter nasal sprays (Vicks inhaler, Afrin)
Asthma medications (Marax, Bronkaid tablets, Primatine Tablets)
Prescription medications (Amfepramone, Cathne, Etafediabe, Morazone,phendimetrazine,
phenmetrazine, benzphetamine, fenfluramine,
dexfenfluramine,dexdenfluramine,Redux, mephentermine, Mesocarb,
methoxyphenamine, phentermine,amineptine, Pholedrine,
hydroymethamphetamine, Dexedrine, amifepramone,
clobenzorex,fenproyorex, mefenorex, fenelylline, Didrex,
dextroamphetamine, methphenidate, Ritalin,pemoline, Cylert,
selegiline, Deprenyl, Eldepryl, Famprofazone)
Kidney infection, kidney disease,
Liver disease, diabetes
Opiates -
Substances or Conditions which can cause false positives
Poppy Seeds
Tylenol with codeine
Most prescription pain medications
Cough suppressants with Dextromethorphan (DXM)
Nyquil
Kidney infection, Kidney Disease
Diabetes, Liver Disease
Ecstacy -
Substances or Conditions which can cause false positives
Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, propylephedrine, phenylephrine, or
desoxyephedrine
(Nyquil, Contact, Sudafed, Allerest, Tavist-D, Dimetapp, etc)
Phenegan-D, Robitussin Cold and Flu, Vicks Nyquil
Over-the-counter diet aids with phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim,
Accutrim)
Over-the-counter nasal sprays (Vicks inhaler, Afrin)
Asthma medications (Marax, Bronkaid tablets, Primatine Tablets)
Prescription medications (Amfepramone, Cathne, Etafediabe,
Morazone,phendimetrazine, phenmetrazine, benzphetamine, fenfluramine,
dexfenfluramine, dexdenfluramine,Redux, mephentermine, Mesocarb,
methoxyphenamine, phentermine, amineptine, Pholedrine,
hydroymethamphetamine, Dexedrine, amifepramone, clobenzorex,
fenproyorex, mefenorex, fenelylline, Didrex, dextroamphetamine,
methphenidate, Ritalin, pemoline, Cylert, selegiline, Deprenyl,
Eldepryl, Famprofazone) Kidney infection, kidney disease
Liver disease, diabetes
Cocaine -
Substances or Conditions which can cause false positives
Kidney infection (kidney disease)
Liver infection (liver disease)
Diabetes
Amoxicillin, tonic water
In
the news...
Hair Tests catch more
blacks than whites
Drug Tests Bring Worries
Of Accuracy
ACLU complaints more
than splitting hairs
Antibiotics
Cause False Positives on Heroin Test
UR-INE
TROUBLE Dr. Holtorf demonstrates how common foods,
prescription medications, and vitamin supplements are
forcing many non-users to falsely test positive, and shows
how drug users are able to easily pass these tests. Yes,
even with the GC/MS, there are often false positives. Dr.
Holtorf unveils the ugly truth about drug testing and
explains how you can avoid the devastating pitfall of a
false positive test.
Among
the items reported as causing false positive test results
are:
- Pain
relievers such as Advil, Nuprin, Motrin and menstrual
cramp medications like Midol and Trendar. All drugs
containing the widely used pain reliever Ibuprofen are
known to cause positive samples for Marijuana.
Non-steroidal anti inflammatories such as Naproxyn have
cross reacted in blind tests. These are often prescribed
for runners, sports injuries to joints, and those
suffering from arthritis.
- Syva
labs has recently reworked its Cannabinoid test and
claims to have eliminated this problem. But a Science
magazine article (July 8, 1988) lists Ibuprofen as cross
reactive. Under the new government guidelines THC
testing levels will be reduced to 50 nanograms. Many
more THC false positives can be expected in 1994.
- Dristan
Nasal Spray, Neosynephren, Vicks Nasal Spray, Sudafed,
etc. and others containing ephedrine or
pnenypropanolamine. Over the counter appetite
suppressants which contain propanolamine. Most common
nasal decongestants can cause a positive reading for
Amphetamines. As the cross reactive list suggests at the
back of this booklet, amphetamine false positives are
the most common. Recent articles in the Journal of
Clinical Chemistry ,Vol. 38 No.12 1992 and Vol. 39 No.3
1993 warn that medications containing chloropromazine,
fluspirilene, and others may yield a positive when
tested for amphetamines.
- Vicks
Formula 44M containing Dextromethorphan, and Primatene-M
containing perylamine as well as the pain reliever
Demerol, and prescription anti-depressant Elavil test
positive for opiates up to three days. Even Quinine
water can also cause a positive reading for opiates.
- Poppy
Seeds such as the ones on a bagel from your favorite
deli, etc. The journal of Clinical Chemistry Vol.33
No.6, 1987 reports: "the quantities of poppy seed
ingested in this study (25 and 40 g) may be expected to
be contained in one or two servings of poppy seed cake.
Therefore, poppy seeds represent a potentially serious
source of falsely positive results in testing opiate
abuse." Clinical Chemistry goes on to conclude: Not
only is it difficult to distinguish heroin or morphine
abuse from codeine, but dietary poppy seeds can give a
strong positive result for urinary opiate of several
days duration that is confirmed by GC/MS analysis".
- Nyquil
Nighttime Cold Medicine will test positive for Methadone
up to two days.
- Antibiotics.
Certain newly developed antibiotics have cause positive
samples urine tests. Ampicillin is suspect. Amoxicillin
has caused positives for cocaine.
- Diazepam
tests positive for PCP as well as the ingredient in some
cough medicines, Dextromethorophan.
- Your
own enzymes. A small fraction of the population excrete
large amounts of certain enzymes in their urine which
can produce a positive drug test. Dr. John Morgan of the
Dept. of Pharmacology of New York City University
writes: "A false positive test could occur in some
individuals because they excrete unusually large amounts
of endogenons lysozyme or malate dehydrogenase."
Dr. Morgan judges that natural enzyme interference may
run as high as 10% of positive samples.
- Black
Skin. This is not a joke! Those of African origin,
certain Orientals, or pacific Islanders might test
positive for marijuana. Dr. James Woodford, a
toxicologist associated with Emory University labs
hypothesized the pigment melanin which protects the skin
from the sun, approximates the molecular structure of
the THC metabolite to cross react on the marijuana urine
test. Dark skinned Caucasians such as those from the
subcontinent of India could also read positive on
marijuana tests. The body eliminates some melanin in a
dark person's urine sample.
- Passive
marijuana inhalation. If you attend a rock concert or
ride in a car where marijuana is smoked nearby, even if
you do not partake, the second hand marijuana that you
might inhale may give your test a positive result for
several days.
TESTS THAT FAIL
Claims of billions of dollars lost in employee productivity are based on
guesswork, not real evidence.
Drug abuse in the workplace affects a relatively small percentage of
workers. A 1994 National Academy of Sciences report found workplace drug use "ranges
from a modest to a moderate extent," and noted that much of reported drug
use "may be single incident, perhaps even at events like office parties."
Furthermore, drug tests are not work-related because they do not measure
on-the-job impairment. A positive drug test only reveals that a drug was
ingested at some time in the past. Nor do they distinguish between occasional
and habitual use.
Drug testing is designed to detect and punish conduct that is usually
engaged in off-duty and off the employer's premises - that is, in private.
Employers who conduct random drug tests on workers who are not suspected of
using drugs are policing private behavior that has no impact on job performance.
ABOUT SAFETY-SENSITIVE OCCUPATIONS
Alertness and sobriety are, of course, imperative for certain occupations,
such as train engineers, airline pilots, truck drivers and others. Yet even in
these jobs, random drug testing does not guarantee safety. Firstly, drug-related
employee impairment in safety-sensitive jobs is rare. There has never been a
commercial airline accident linked to pilot drug use. And even after a 1994
Amtrak accident in which several lives were lost, investigators discovered the
train engineer had a well known history of alcohol, not drug, abuse.
Computer-assisted performance tests, which measure hand-eye coordination and
response time, are a better way of detecting whether employees are up to the
job. NASA, for example, has long used task-performance tests to determine
whether astronauts and pilots are unfit for work - whether the cause is
substance abuse, fatigue, or physical illness.
Drug tests don't prevent accidents because they don't address the root
problems that lead to substance abuse. But good management and counseling can.
Employee assistance programs (EAPs) help people facing emotional, health,
financial or substance abuse problems that can affect job performance. EAP
counselors decide what type of help is needed: staff support, inpatient
treatment, AA meetings, and the like. In this context, the goal is
rehabilitation and wellness - not punishment.
Employers need to kick the drug test habit.
SOURCES: American Management Association survey, "Workplace
Drug Testing and Drug Abuse Policies"; R. DeCresce, Drug Testing in the
Workplace (BNA, 1989); Under the Influence? Drugs and the American
Workforce, National Academy of Sciences, 1994; J.P. Morgan, "The
'Scientific' Justification for Urine Drug Testing," University of
Kansas L.R., 1988.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Privacy - the right to be left alone - is one of our most
cherished rights. Yet because so few laws protect our privacy, the ACLU's
campaign for privacy in the workplace is very important - particularly in
the private sector.
The ACLU is working in the states to help enact legislation to protect
workplace privacy rights. We have created a model statute regulating workplace
drug testing. In 1996 the ACLU launched a public education campaign to help
individuals across the nation become aware of the need for increased workplace
privacy rights. Our educational videotape Through the Keyhole: Privacy in
the Workplace - An Endangered Right was featured on national television
and at union meetings and other gatherings nationwide.
Much more work remains to be done. As of mid 1997, only a handful of states
ban testing that is not based on individual suspicion: Montana, Iowa, Vermont,
and Rhode Island. Minnesota, Maine and Connecticut permit not-for-cause testing,
but only of employees in safety-sensitive positions. These laws also require
confirmation testing, lab certification and test result confidentiality.
Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Utah regulate drug testing
in some fashion; Florida and Kansas protect government employee rights, but not
those of private sector workers. Only in California, Massachusetts and New
Jersey have the highest courts ruled out some forms of drug testing on state
constitutional or statutory grounds. The ACLU is now continuing our efforts to
protect workplace privacy rights. You can help.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1) Learn more about the issue. Order a copy of our video Through the
Keyhole: Privacy in the Workplace - An Endangered Right and share it
with family, friends, and co-workers ($7 plus shipping, call 800-775-ACLU to
order.) Feel free to duplicate the tape at will.
2) Get a copy of our 1996 report, Surveillance Incorporated., which
documents the increase in various forms of employer surveillance and breaks down
privacy laws state by state. This free report is available through our website
or our 800-number.
3) Write your elected officials urging them to support workplace privacy
legislation..
4) Want to do more? Contact the ACLU's Campaign for Fairness in the Workplace
to find out how you can personally help to get legislation passed. Write ACLU
Campaign for Fairness in the Workplace, 166 Wall Street, Princeton, NJ 08540,
fax (609) 683-1787.
JOIN
Become a member of the ACLU and help support our efforts to protect the
right to privacy. Write us at ACLU - Membership Department, 125 Broad
Street, New York, NY 10004
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