[Closed] Has anyone else failed a drug test?

I think I saw something on TV about investigating whether eating poppy seed bagels could result in failing tests for opiates, but I can't remember too clearly what the outcome was, but I think the result that bagels could result in a positive test.

If you have evidence your on the drugs by prescription then you have nothing to worry about.

taken codeine lately?

Infact [url= http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/poppyseed.asp ]here you go[/url]

We went through every drug i could have taken over the counter to give a positive reaction and i have taken nothing apart from my prescribed medication in the last month.

i did ask the nurse if poppy seeds could be the cause but she said no. Maybe she was wrong

Been at any parties where people were smoking weed?

yes but the THC test was negative

I know a lad who was suspended from work after failing a random drug test, positive for opiates as in your case. Clean living guy, doesn't even take headache tablets, so was mystified by the result. Second independent analysis was done and found to be clear, so it is possible that the initial test has flashed up as a false positive.

Take any imodium? That will flash a false positive.

Codeine, couch syrup containing codeine, medication that stops you coughing could well be based on codeine as well since it's one of the best drugs to stop the cough reflex

Piss in a pot test is probably immunoassay, hence horrendous cross-reactivity causing false positives (ie. you've taken something vaguely opiate-esque recently). Proper lab test should put you in the clear.

Have a friend who failed a drugs test after testing positive for opiates. He ate a roll covered in poppy seeds about an hour before the test. He was ordered to report for a retest the next morning with one of the offending rolls and tested clean.

not in a piss test... but one of those electronic testing machines occasionally found outside clubs and events..

It showed as positive for cocaine use which came as somewhat of a shock to me... they claimed that the positive reading could be as a result of me handling a banknote which may have been used for snorting cocaine at sometime in the past!!

So from that experience and from reading this thread I would say that the technology and science is certainly not 100% percent accurate as yet..

Yup, i showed up as non-negative for opiates. The sample was sent away for lab analysis and came back ok.

I'm quite involved in arranging and facilitating random tests at my work now so have quite a lot of dealing with Industrial Doctors. Quite a lot of over the counter medicines can cause non negatives with the dip test, but this is usually sorted out in the lab.
Also, i quoted the poppy seed thing to the Doctor and was told that you'd need to eat tonnes of the stuff before it would have any effect.

You'll be right!

I work for probation and test people for drugs on a daily basis.

The tests fail on a regular basis. We have guys who are off their tits on anything they can get hold off passing, whilst others with no past history of substance abuse and entirely unrelated offences come up positive.

Seems a little heavy asking you to take a test pre-employment though. What's the job if you don't mind me asking?

'positive for drugs' - you'll have to hand back that Olympic Gold now...bummer 😆

you'll be right mate and good luck with the job

my mate - a seriously heavy user of all kinds of drugs - managed to pass a piss in the pot drugs test for a new job 3 weeks after his last joint ....

this same boy got caught smuggling 3000 exstacy tablets into T in the park ....

i have no faith in piss in the pot tests .....

it is for a large oil company. Working in design. American owned. It is quite standard in my industry to do pre employment and random drugs tests for all staff.
I don't really mind and I can see why they do it just the science needs to catch up.

was it at RS-medical oblique ?

trail_rat - Member
my mate - a seriously heavy user of all kinds of drugs - managed to pass a piss in the pot drugs test for a new job 3 weeks after his last joint ....

Snap. I was surprised by a PITP test as part of an interview for a job at John Lewis' many years back - thought it was just a regular medical. I had had large amounts of LSD the day before, followed by copious amounts of pot to help with the comedown.

When the company nurse came out with the pot I nearly shat in it instead of pissing in it....

The results showed, "... a surprising amount of protein - have you any idea what might have caused that?". I said I'd had a bad cold and got the job...

If they applied drug testing in the City, they'd be left with about 3 people...

On my 19th birthday (37 now) i was booked in for an operation for an operation on an ingrowing toenail. I had been on (and was still on upon leaving for the hospital) a 4 day bender with no sleep and the nurse did a pre op blood and urine test. Needless to say when she came back with the results she looked a little shocked!!

i was looking at a rig job a few years back when i had what can only be described as a manly fail. my friends weren't happy at the prospect of me leaving so got me very drunk and filled me up with every drug they could get their hands on. the nurse described the rsults as 'problematic'.

a few years later i was working for an american company and was having a blether with one of their corporate types who was suggesting an american style drug and alcohol testing regime. it could never work here i told her. but why she asked. because, i said, this is scotland and you'd have no workers.

I'd be well offended if someone drug tested me. Still, the Americans like to do that sort of thing. They keep going on about needing to preserve their personal freedom, but it's a total f*cking illusion... 🙁 ok rant over.

loddrick they wouldn't be testing for drugs before you had an ingrowing toenail op!

They may not have been testing for drugs but they sure as hell knew what I'd been taking!

i have no issues with drugs testing - had 3 now - work for an american company - pre job , and 2 for medicals for offshore !

I refused one on the grounds I would fail it anyway and why did they not just ask me what I did ? 63% of staff failed so they could not sack us but we got counselling 😯 Suppose the real question is whether it affects your performance at the job. I could quite legally turn up hung over /half/cocked over the limit just plodding till I could have my next fag and that would make me competent to do my job.
TBH what you do in your free time , that does not affect your performance at work in none of their business.

I agree with Junkyard. It's simply too intrusive for private companies to be allowed to drug test people. What's it got to do with them, what people get up to in their spare time? Far to 'Big Brother' for my liking. As long as folk turn up on time are alert and capable of doing their jobs, what's the purpose of the drug test, other than to snoop into people's private lives? If there aresafety issues at stake, such as driving a train or operating sensitive machinery etc, then fair enough, but otherwise, it shouldn't be allowed. It's a violation of someone's right to privace really. And before anyone starts on about 'if you're innocent you've nothing to hide'; the system is hypocritical anyway. You can legally drink yourself to a stupor every night, smoke 80 a day, which could have far worse impact on your health and capabilities, but that would be ok. Drug testing at work is an American idea that should not have come across the pond. As I alluded to earlier, I bet they don't test any stockbrokers/traders; loads of them are coked up to the gills.

If I want to have a spliff or an E at the weekend, it should be up to me. Illegal? Pfft. No more 'socially damaging' than driving at 90 on the motorway. Attitudes to drugs in this country are outdated and invalid, and need to change.

I had to do one once but they wanted a lock of my hair 😯

It was all really rather romantic. I asked if they had a locket they intended to put it in!

potentially i could be instructing the operation of an oil rig ... probably best im not drugged up !

Considering you can only get opium from opium poppies I find it hard to believe poppies that are in food are of the opium type. You would eat a bagel and then be spannered.

I think people eating poppy covered bagels and then failing drugs tests is an urban myth.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/poppyseed.asp

Lab results came back and were negative. 🙂

3 days late and had to delay my start date but all is well that ends well. So form my experiance the PITP tess is unreliable but lab testing is acurate.