cutoff levels

The level is 0.0, test anything above that, driving truck isn't for you.

 

Each state's DOT has their own limits, but company policy on mainstream carriers is zero tolerance.

 

Whooot ? You think this is Canada ??

 

Canada doesn't do drug testing.. Unless your going into the US...

I wonder why this is??

 

because the USA has figured out how to cop freedom from its people without them complaining, Canada hasn't caught on yet..

 

Cut off levels is the amount needed to trip the first test that indicates the presence of a controlled substance. Once that is reached they do a Mass spectrograph to determine the drug.

Back when this all started the cutoff level for POT was 100 nanograms per ml. they decided after a short time to drop the cutoff to 50 ng/ml and had a dramatic increase in POT positives.

AFAIK the cut off have not changes since.

 

wis bang is correct. Companies know absolutely nothing about amounts. They just know whether you tested positive or negative. Only the lab and MRO knows the amounts.
To eliminate false positives, they have created cutoff levels when testing to satisfy "without a doubt" results. Stuff like Heroin, poppyseeds will show trace amounts. THC, Advil will show trace amounts. So they use cutoff levels to eliminate them.

A GC-MS burns the sample as the machine temperature increases. Every substance on earth burns at a certain temperature and a certain length of time. The machine graphs this. By known samples called "standards" they can figure out what is what on the graph. The machines even print out the results with numbered measurements.
Let's say where pot is suppose to spike, instead of spiking 1 inch on the graph, it just spikes a 1/4 inch, you might pass depending what the cutoff level is. They might figure 1/2" or a certain amount on the printout. It's a little more complicated, but that's just to give you an idea.
Like wis bang said, this test is expensive. They first do a cheap chemical reaction test. You test negative, test over. Test positive, off to the GC-MS test for a back up confirmation. That's why when you give them a urine sample, they use two containers.

I got to use a GC-MS at a chemical plant job I had. Basically we heated chemicals in a reactor. We used the GC-MS to tell when the reaction process was done. The machine has many uses. I think back in the 80's I was told they cost around $18K. they ain't cheap.

 

False reports on drug screens? This website http://www.passyourdrugtest.com/false-positives.htm has a ton of regular prescriptions and over the counter drugs that cause false positives. Is this true or are they just trying to sell their "scam the drug test" items?

My reason for concern is that I have been taking the antibiotic "Cipro" recently and there is a big write up saying that it can cause you to test positive for opiates (see http://www.passyourdrugtest.com/12-25-2001-news.htm ).

Thanks for any info you can give.

 

If you test positive the lab Dr will call you. This is why you have to put a day and evening phone number on the form. They will ask you if you are on any meds. They know what can cause false positives and what can't. After you inform them of what you are taking the will call your pharmacy to confirm the prescription is legit. I take a pill for acid reflux that they say can cause a false psoitive but I've never had an issue in 5 yrs taking it.