Originally Posted by Damnnit

I have also been told by Roehl + Schnider recruiter's that the DOT has acknowledged their hair follicle testing in place of urine for drug testing compliance for DOT . They are not required to but DOT accepts it in place of Urine as it is " better " than the requirements set forth.

Well, that's a step in the right direction. Now I guess it's time to get busy and see if I can write DOT and get them to adopt those requirements for the return to duty process. Because in the case of that, it would be beneficial to the person who can easily demonstrate a non-history of habitual drug use.

Even If it was not you would be forced to lie on all your applications as they ask ( Have you ever failed a drug test ).

Nobody forces anybody to do anything. That absolves responsibility on the person and makes them believe they are unaccountable for their actions.

It is a choice to lie on an application. If you fail a DOT drug test, (which now I know that DOT recognizes hair follicle), you are disqualified to drive until you complete a return to duty process. If a drunk driver parks on your front bumper down the road and dies, and his family's lawyer gets a hold of that disqualification, you will be liable for the accident.

Just do not do drugs and keep a wide berth from them at all times and you will have no worries

Most of the casual visitors to this thread are here because they failed to follow that advice from the start, or have made a mistake.

I like to leave it at this:

If someone is worried about passing a pre-employment hair test, then he/she should abstain for a minimum of 3 months before testing, and continue with that abstinence. Clean up before you start your career, and stay clean. You never know what will happen.

Hello

I am a 2 day holder of a CDL. Upon entering school a month ago the MRO reported me as positive and has told me he would correct it. He has only written a letter stating why it was positive and not that it should have been negative.

There is apparently a web site that companies pull previous drug screens from, can anyone lead me to them.

I have never failed a drug test, and coming from construction I have taken over 50 in the last 20 yrs. I have tested positive due to prescriptions, but they have all been reported to employers as negative. I have never been refused a job due to a drug screen, nor have I ever refused to take one.

It stinks that I now have a liscense and cant get a job anywhere!

Please help me find the company or website that reports to companies so I can end this lengthy lay-off.

Thanks

J.B.


Is DAC the only report I need to worry about?

Originally Posted by Veteran driver

I was at a truck stop last month. And in the TV room were 3 other drivers. They were talking about DOT regs. Then the topic changed to drug testing. One Guy ( a tall skinny dude ) claimed he smoked, on average, about two joints per month, while he took time off at home. He explained it like this. His body type is ectomorph skinny frame with high metabolism. He said as a ritual, he " preps his urine" by this he meant, taking Mega men vitamins rich in B complex, the kind that produces very yellow urine. Then eats red meat. To put the protein creatine that is found in urine. He voids in the morning, drinks more water then voids again. He doesn't drink too much water, but enough to bring the cut off level down to where the urine is found to actually be urine with some color and some Ph levels and creatine, but not diluted. He said technically he's dirty. But his urine specimen is below the cut off level. So even with the gas technology that they use, it still comes back negative. Partly, he explained, because he isn't a heavy user and his relentless endeavor to keep his urine clean. His words. This dude seems to be going through a lot just to keep clean pee pee LOL. Is it true what he said.

He's not full of it.

THC resides in fat cells. People with less body-fat and a high metabolism will typically pee cleaner than an overweight person because they are retaining less THC in their system for a shorter duration.

Two joints a month, and I'm sure not smoked at the same time is a pretty low threshold to begin with. Before I got in trouble, it would be my approach, a hit or two here or there. I'm also tall, (6'5") and when I was doing food-service and drinking tons of water, right around 16% body-fat. Not rail skinny, but not fat either. Busy metabolism, etc.

GNC's mega men vitamins would make my pee turn neon green. I took them for the vitamins, not for the drug testing stuff.

As long as he maintains that discipline, he will more than likely come in under the threshold. He has the benefit of a high metabolism and not a lot of fat cells to store it in. He also adequately hydrates, etc.

The reason I got caught and pissed dirty is that I lost my discipline. Some people have a hard time wrapping around the words discipline and drug use in the same sentence, but like my SAP counselor said, "It's just weed, and really no big deal. Pretty simple, actually. Just don't smoke it."

Originally Posted by SmoothShifter

Yeah, which ain't cheap. I'm looking at $600 for the SAP, and "education class" and then the cost of 6 supervised randoms in the upcoming year, at about $60 a crack. And.... that's a bargain compared to what some people paid. It's why I'm going back to NY in April, because a SAP down here is close to $1500 and they want me to see a counselor for 5 sessions. Then the $360 for drug tests, providing they only do a 1 year follow up program. They can whizz-quiz you for up to 5 years if they see fit. You have to take the minimum of 6 for the first year.

And by the way, once you choose an SAP, and they pull your records from the previous employer, you can't change or get a second opinion because you don't agree with their "treatment recommendations".

This is why I am a big fan of hair follicle testing on the side of the return to duty process. You can show non-drug use as far back as you're willing to grow your hair.

*****

Then, unless the original carrier takes him back, it's a long road to find someone who will hire him with it on his record. Myself, I have 2 options. One is a previous employer where I was in good standing and experienced, (middle pic on my sig) the other is back to being an O/O. I'm hoping the carrier gives me a swat at it, but all I can do is cross my fingers.

So, in a nutshell, if he is 100% sure he was clean, he should fight and exhaust every resource he can....

The cost of validating that split sample will be a lot less than the SAP, and lost income. Plus, if he clears his name, he can get the carrier for wrongful termination, and probably recover his lost wages, and other associated costs. He could probably get his job back - not saying that he wants it.

Gryphon will probably be a much better source of the 7 panel "pre-screen" and what the cutoffs are. Once again, if he has a slip stating clean for it, I would use that.

If he used his cell phone number for the chain of custody form, download the call history for the period from the date of test to 3+ weeks forward, so you can prove no attempted contact was made.

He does have a copy of the chain of custody form, I'm assuming. I hope so.

Originally Posted by The Gryphon

An "in-house test" is meaningless as far as DOT is concerned. All DOT-regulated tests must be performed by a certified laboratory.

As for whether the driver should have been contacted by the MRO, yes he should have been contacted by the MRO.

That said, there is only one drug that I am aware of that will result in a positive for THC that meets the standard of having a "legitimate medical use" as far as a DOT MRO is concerned.

So, while the MRO should have contacted the donor, it probably would not have changed the outcome of the test.

In the THOUSANDS of results that I have personally handled, I have NEVER seen a validated "false positive" for THC from a certified lab.

So, regardless of what your driver says, or whether or not the proper MRO process was followed, it's EXTREMELY UNLIKELY that the lab test result is incorrect.

BUT, your driver can request to have a test done on "Bottle B" of the split specimen. That's almost always done at the donor's expense and I've never seen one come back that didn't confirm the original result. But it's the donor's right to have that test conducted if they wish.

If they do request a "Bottle B" test, that specimen will be sent from the original lab to ANOTHER certified lab for testing. And as I said, all costs for the testing (including any shipping or other fees charged by either or both labs) is usually at the donor's expense.

I forgot about this thread. My buddy called me two weekends ago and I wanted to give a update on his situation. He hired a attorney that specializes in these type of DOT regulations. Supposedly, the attorney is telling him, he can get this reversed because the MRO failed to follow proper protocol. Just wanted to let ya'll know.

Originally Posted by rookietrucker

I forgot about this thread. My buddy called me two weekends ago and I wanted to give a update on his situation. He hired a attorney that specializes in these type of DOT regulations. Supposedly, the attorney is telling him, he can get this reversed because the MRO failed to follow proper protocol. Just wanted to let ya'll know.

A good enough lawyer can get almost anything reversed in our system of "justice".

Of course, if he REALLY is clean, there's no need to spend a bunch of money on an attorney. Just have the Bottle B test done.

I suspect if he's not willing to have the Bottle B test and feels the need to hire an attorney and have it litigated then there's a lot more to his story than we know.

Originally Posted by Veteran driver

I was at a truck stop last month. And in the TV room were 3 other drivers. They were talking about DOT regs. Then the topic changed to drug testing. One Guy ( a tall skinny dude ) claimed he smoked, on average, about two joints per month, while he took time off at home. He explained it like this. His body type is ectomorph skinny frame with high metabolism. He said as a ritual, he " preps his urine" by this he meant, taking Mega men vitamins rich in B complex, the kind that produces very yellow urine. Then eats red meat. To put the protein creatine that is found in urine. He voids in the morning, drinks more water then voids again. He doesn't drink too much water, but enough to bring the cut off level down to where the urine is found to actually be urine with some color and some Ph levels and creatine, but not diluted. He said technically he's dirty. But his urine specimen is below the cut off level. So even with the gas technology that they use, it still comes back negative. Partly, he explained, because he isn't a heavy user and his relentless endeavor to keep his urine clean. His words. This dude seems to be going through a lot just to keep clean pee pee LOL. Is it true what he said.

Yeah, I gotta question the 'TWO joints'. Just not worth it.