Drug Addicted Children- Documentary
When someone becomes dependent on drugs or alcohol, the whole family is affected. Whether it’s relationships, trust, money, marriage or children, drug or alcohol addiction touches every part of an individual’s life.
I heard that kids could do something to make the sample read negative. Is this true? How is this detected?
You’ve probably heard that adolescents drink a lot of water to dilute the urine thinking that the drug test will then be negative. For the most part, what can more likely adulterate urine samples and render false positive results is what is added to it at the time of collection. Adulteration of urine samples generally fall into three categories:
(1) Urine substitution;
(2) Ingestion of fluids to dilute the sample or interfere with the testing process; and
(3) Direct adulteration of the sample itself. A pragmatic approach is to time urine sampling with random collections.
A number of drugs are pH dependent, with excretion hastened when pH is lowered. Thus, consumption of cranberry or vinegar produces more of the drugs in the urine. Ingestion of large amounts of vitamins C, B, niacin, and goldenseal has been shown to be completely ineffective by various studies. Addition of sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, hydrogen peroxide, bleach, alcohol, blood, and soaps has been shown to produce false positive and false negative results. Obtaining samples can be stringent, and there are certain protocols that are followed to include one-on-one monitoring. Colorants may be placed in toilet bowls to make sure that samples are not adulterated by toilet water. Samples tested for legal purposes follow a chain of command that must be adhered to.
There are means to detect adulteration in the laboratory, including the following:
1. Urine appearance and color-Alcohol, soaps, and bleach are readily identified by odor. Soaps cause excessive bubbling. Solid adulterants are seen as residues in the container.
2. Creatinine level-The creatinine level is normally greater than 40 mg/dL; less than 20 mg/dL is abnormally diluted; this leads to false negative results.
3. Specific gravity-The level of specific gravity is normally between 1.002 and 1.030 g/ml. Extremely low specific gravity suggests dilution whereas a high specific gravity indicates dissolved solids.
4. pH level-The pH level is normally between 4.8 and 7.8. Low pH suggests acidic substances like cranberry juice and vinegar were ingested. Elevated pH suggests basic compounds like sodium bicarbonate and bleach were added to the urine.
5. Detection of temperature-Within 4 minutes of collection, the sample normally yields a temperature of 32.5 to 37.7°C. If it doesn’t, it has probably been altered.
How long do drugs stay in the body? Is it true that marijuana stays in the body for about a month?
Cutoff levels for different drugs are established by individual laboratories to match analytical and client needs. For a test to be reported as positive, drugs must meet the threshold concentration, which is greater than the limit of detection, also known as sensitivity, and usually greater than the limit of quantization, the lowest level of accurate quantization. Results are not reported as “negative,” as this implies absence of drug being tested.
Laboratories do not test down to a level of zero. “None detected” means that no drug is present or the drug is present but below the threshold concentration. Detection of drugs in the urine is dependent on a number of factors including variability of urine specimens, drug metabolism and half-life, patient’s physical condition, fluid intake, and method and frequency of ingestion.
Marijuana can stay in your body for about a month if you are a regular user. A single use of marijuana may only persist for 4 days, such that urine testing after that time can have a negative result. It is customary to have urine samples tested up to a maximum of 4 days of interval in between tests to reliably detect use. Adolescents often comment that they have only smoked marijuana once but that it will stay in their bodies for weeks. Marijuana gets stored in body fat, and prolonged storage is only through repeated use over longer periods of time. In addition, quantification gives a good time line of use and estimate of use in the last 30 days.
Rachelle’s comments:
Kids would tell me that weed stays in the body for thirty days. Even for someone who had smoked a blunt only once, he or she will not stay positive for longer than a week. Persistence of the drug for at least thirty days with cessation of use indicates a pattern of regular use. The level of the drug that is present gives a good estimate of last use. This helps me to determine whether my son is forthcoming about his use or not.
Terms:
Threshold concentration – The level of drug in a sample that meets or exceeds a preestablished cutoff level. A sample with a level above this concentration is said to be positive.
Limit of detection – The lowest level of drug at which an instrument is able to determine its presence.
Sensitivity – The proportion with which the presence of a drug is correctly identified in drug testing.
Limit of quantitation – The lowest level of drug at which its presence cannot be reliably determined
What are the usual drugs for which one is tested?
The usual toxicology test includes tests for opioids, cocaine, and cannabis.
Can I use an over-the-counter screening kit?
Parents have reported using these kits and find them helpful. The kits will test for the following: marijuana, cocaine/crack, amphetamine (Ritalin, Dexedrine), methamphetamine (crystal meth), and morphine/opiates (heroin, codeine).
My son said he uses weed but he also tested positive for opioids and PCP. He insists he is not using them. Could he be telling the truth?
Occasionally, urine drug tests will be positive for both cannabis and opioids. During an interview, adolescents may repetitively deny that they are abusing heroin or opioids. This can also be attributed to cannabis laced with opioids, which is not their drug of choice. Sometimes, adolescents report heightened aggression or paranoia with cannabis intoxication. This can be attributed to cannabis laced with PCP. As PCP is not routinely tested, this is not regularly documented in reports unless there are strong reasons to also screen for it.
How will I know if the drug test results are accurate?
Screenings depend on the cutoff for each particular drug tested, which is determined by federal standards. Once a specimen has been declared positive, it can be subjected to further confirmatory tests, which are at least 99% accurate. Thin-layer chromatography is highly specific for a particular drug being tested.
You may have heard adolescents who had tested positive say that they were with a group of kids who were using and that they did not smoke but inhaled the others’ smoke second hand. There is no evidence that this would result in a positive urine test. Studies have simulated a situation where individuals who did not smoke but were placed in a closed car with other individuals who smoked marijuana were tested, and they were found to have negative urine drug tests. I often hear this from adolescents as an excuse for positive test results while in treatment. It is simply not the case.
Once a specimen has been declared positive, it can be subjected to further confirmatory tests, which are at least 99% accurate.
What are other drug tests?
Serum toxicology (blood samples) is also used, especially in emergency room settings. Other tests include breathalyzer tests used by law enforcers, and less commonly used tests involving hair and saliva. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has considered breath alcohol devices approved for evidentiary use with results admissible in court. A word of caution: These tests are used in conjunction with other physical evidence like being able to walk on a straight line and good coordination.
I remember taking this test with my supervisor and a recent mouthwash gargle made my test positive!
What about alcohol strips? Can these be useful?
Parents of individuals in a day program who use no drugs other than alcohol have found alcohol strips helpful as a deterrent for relapse. As alcohol is not routinely tested, some individuals will even change their drug of choice from marijuana to alcohol to escape detection of drug use. Alcohol strips use saliva to detect presence of alcohol. Concentration of alcohol in saliva compared to blood is almost 1:1. A vendor has claimed sensitivity is up to 0.02% (http://www.ivdpretest.com/Alcohol-Saliva-Rapid-Test-Strips.html).
