FaderMonkey

So, I just found out this morning that I got a job I really want. Woohoo! Except I'm not that excited cause I also had to do a drug test this morning right after I was hired. Now I'm scared as hell that I'm not going to pass.

The only drug I've ever done (other that alcohol) is pot and I've only smoked pot 3 times in my life. The last time was sometime in April and I smoked once about a month before that. The drug test consisted of a hair and urine sample. The hair on my head is really short, so he took some from my leg. So, what do you guys think? Think I'm going to pass or fail?

hulk

A leg hair test? Ouch. Might be cutting it a little fine. A close shave, if you will. Might be a piss-ant, might not.

Heh, enough puns?

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StephenSa

Well, obviously the urine test should come up clean. If you've really only smoked pot three times I would think any trace of it would be neglible and you'd pass. At this point there is nothing you can do about it so if I were you I'd not let worrying about it ruin the excitement of getting the great gig. I'm no medico but I think you'll pass. Congratulations on your new job.

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avernus

If they do find something in your hair (very unlikely but it does last for ages supposedly) then you could always say some people on the bus were smoking it and you told them what for. I reckon you'll be fine though. Congrats on the job.

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Gabbyness

Craziness! Leg hair? I hope it works out for you bud.

kutulu

You should be just fine. Smoking pot only 3 times and so long ago should mean you are fine.

Glory's Sun

It's gonna show up in the hair test (most likely) but not the piss test. You could say it was a one time deal when you were young and stupid. Since the piss will be clean they'll see that you haven't done it recently and you should be ok. Good luck

skinnymofo

you can actually have trace amounts in tests and under something like 20 whatever the measurements is, is a passed test.
as far as urine testing is concerned, if you are an infrequent smoker, it will take only~3 days to be out of your system.
this information came directly from a drug counselor i had while i was in after school rehab for smokin

iccky

Erowid is your friend

To summerize, you're probably going to get caught on the hair test, but they'll also be able to tell that it was a while ago and very infrequent. So you may have some explaining to do.

Blackthorn

Holy crap! Can you share what sort of job this is? This seems like a crazy amount of on the spot drug testing for your typical CEO position at Enron.

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uncle phil

most reputable employers require a drug-screen as part of the orientation process nowadays...

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ophelia783

Seeing as the last time you smoked weed was 2 months ago, you'll be fine, and have (if anything) only trace amounts in your system.

The reason why they took the hair from your leg, most likely, was because it can show follicular history, and give them a better idea of your past drug history.

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maleficent

When I worked for a bank - I had to be bonded (even though I was in IT - and not IT that got anywhere near money) part of that process was fingerprinting, and hair and urine test.... (my hair was a lot longer than it is now, and the test came back with trace amounts of drugs -- which I have never done in my life... other than over the counter stuff) based on the length of the hair, they pretty much decided my crack head days were so long in the past they offered me the job anyhow (which i hated so muchI quit after 2 months

If your hair is short, I wouldnt worry about it...

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AquaFox

good luck, i think you should have just waxed all the hair on your body off

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Blackthorn

My current client is based in Delaware and they lease office space from J.P.Morgan. In order to get a badge to access that building I had to go through an FBI background check including fingerprints, etc. They didn't take a DNA sample to test for drugs. I'm surprised by that because considering the other "checking me out" they did why would they not want to know about substance abuse? It would have been a waste of money on their part to check me buuuuuut...

So...maybe if you had tried crack the job would have been a little more tolerable

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maleficent

the only thing that owul dhave made that job tolerable was a bullet to the brain of several people

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infamous13

dude hair can go back 1 year

FaderMonkey

Yeah, to me this all seems really excessive. I live in Orlando and the job is at a local theme park (not Disney) and this park screens all of their new hires. I wouldn't be so nervous if it was just a urine test, but I have a feeling something will show up in the hair test. I just hope they'll see that it's only a little bit and they'll let me pass. I guess I'll know in a week or two.

cj2112

according to this: http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/...shtml#duration you are looking at up to 90 days from the time of use that your hair can test positive for cannabis.

StanT

My job involves network outsourcing for several banks and government agencies. It's been a while; but new customers sometimes require new drug tests. I've had the hair test come back positive for no apparent reason and it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

For what it's worth, my prescription for Protonix warns of false positive results for THC. Maybe you want to develop a case of acid reflux?

Phage

Drug usage usually does not show up in DNA tests, but sometimes it seems that way.

Suave

Taken directly from that site:

"Peak levels of marijuana metabolites in the urine occur about five hours post dose and thus are not useful in predicting the degree of intoxication. Urinary presence only indicates recent exposure. Note marijuana metabolite testing is available only in urine, not hair. "

What does that mean, that the hair test won't pick it up?

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Konichiwaneko

I've always thought a failed drug test is a gateway to passing another test, mostly one of character.

If they come asking, tell them the truth. Either a) they believe you, and are cool about it, or B) they don't want you, and you can't do anything about that anyways.

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reiii

yikes not sure about that advice, my friend just did the honest thing and told the Department of Justice that he had tried pot, he was fired (or not hired) on the spot. One of the most notorious pot heads in our former highschool, is working the same job. If you fail and they give you a chance to explain yourself do your best to down play, or even lie away your results. The fact that you will pass your piss test will help a bunch.

Do you feel that smoking in April impairs you as an employee? If so, you better tell them. If not, fuck it, your out of elementary school, honesty will leave you jobless.

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wolf

Leg hair huh, not sure about that. Let us know if you get the job.

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dounome

Howdy.

My sis just went through the same thing. Her hair is long......it had been right at 90 days since she last smoked when they did the hair test. She passed.

I don't know if it was a breakdown of the pot in her hair after that length of time, or the length of the hair they used (about 1 1/2 inches), but she passed.

Good luck.

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mokle

You're gonna fail he hair test, but the good news is they will see how long ago it was and roughly how much you smoked. Seems like you culd pass of a "just tried it once" excuse.

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punx1325

Hair test last 90 days. Sadly you will fail it, if they let you take it again i recommend going out and buying some shampoo.

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Druidess

As for the urine you are 100% ok... however the hair and blood a little close... I wish you the luck to pass.

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Latch

It's been about a week. Any results yet?

FaderMonkey

Well, it's been a week so I called my new job today to see if any results came in. They did and I was told I'm fine. I don't know if that means nothing showed up at all in the test or if it was just such a small amount that they didn't care. Either way, I got the job!

Thanks everybody for your feedback!

clavus

Cool! Score one for the good guys!

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Glory's Sun

huh? I was told that hair tests can detect any drug use for a lifetime.


anyway, congrats for passing

chickentribs

What is sad, is that drug testing companies run at about 5% false positives and they don't allow anyone to retake them. Most companies don't want to give them, they are expensive, time consuming, and they know that they loose good candidates. There is no study that could ever link pot use to any level of poorer performance than legal substances like alcohol, prescription.... In fact, for whatever reason potheads are on average signifigantly more likely to have more education and higher grades than social drinkers.

No, I don't smoke. I was in HR for a while. But the insurance companies have forced comapnies to bear the cost for worker's comp reasons. Long story short, if you get hurt on the job, they can only drug test you if they have a drug testing program in place. Do they think you're going to actually be drunk or high on the job? Not so much, but they can deny your claim if you have those small traces. Many people test positive for alcohol because they had been out drinking within a couple of days, pot is much more common than you would think. Pain medication if you are in high risk job cat.. Construction workers get hosed all the time.

Basically it is done to deny legit worker comp claims by 20%. Friggin insurance

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