10 Things You Need to Know About Drug Tests for Employment
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So, you have landed a decent job in the organization of your choice. You are excited about the opportunity and cannot wait to start the period. However, there is one formality left in the hiring procedure, as you would need to do a drug test.
Although you haven’t done any drugs in the past few days, you are worried as to how the test would go and whether you could get a false positive/negative.
Fact is that you will remain worried until that test is done with. So, to help share your worries we mention 10 things you will want to know about drug testing for employment. The more you know about it, the more relaxed you will feel walking into the center for a drug test.
1. When Will They Test You?
The first thing you need to know is the timing of that drug test. The timing of the drug test would be determined on the basis of when you are offered a job. The hiring procedure is almost similar for most firms, which is why you won’t see discrepancies or last minute changes.
Once you get your job offer, the person from the HR department will also let you know the need for a drug test. Normally, organizations place a 24 to 48 hours window for the drug test to be administered.
This window helps give you enough time to prepare for the test, but not enough time to doctor the results. If you have some unlawful drugs inside your body, you wouldn’t have the time to clear them away from the body within this time frame.
2. Understand Their Perspective
Chances are that you will find the drug test stupid and a waste of your time and resources. However, you need to take out some time and understand the perspective of the firm hiring you as well. Drug usage is common, and can lead to serious repercussions for major firms.
An employee who shows up at work under the influence can end up doing things that they might not even want to do in the first place. Hence, it just helps to screen potential employees and keep people that have drugs in their system out. Consider this as an effort by an organization to limit the liabilities that can be caused if they hire a serious drug user.
3. The Printed Material – Required Documents
While some offices have indoor testing facilities, not many organizations afford that luxury. So, if you are taken to a testing office, you will be required to show your ID, along with the letter of confirmation from the workplace you are heading to.
Testing facilities are strict in checking and making sure that the ID belongs to the person who is taking the test, so that candidates cannot pull the ol’ switcheroo on them.
4. What Drug Test Would They Take?
Drug testing through your urine is the go-to testing method followed by organizations. However, there are chances that you could have tests on your hair or your blood and saliva as well.
In the pee tests, you will be handed a small container to store samples of your urine. The samples of your urine would then be checked to identify whether there are any drugs in your system.
5. The Drugs Being Tested
A typical employment drug test would test your hair or urine sample for common drugs, and not every one of them. Such a test would mostly be for cannabis or marijuana.
All strains of cannabis, coming from all forms, would be considered here. THC, oils, tinctures, edibles and CBD would all be tested as part of these tests.
However, some other drugs including amphetamines, MDM, benzodiazepines and PCP can also be checked during these tests.
6. How Long Do Drugs Stay in Your Body?
It can be useful for you to know the duration that drugs stay in your body. Some of the common drugs and the duration they stay in your body are:
- Cannabis: 2 days to 11 weeks
- Cocaine: 1 to 4 days
- Heroin: 2 to 4 days
- Liquor: 6 to 24 hours
- PCP: 3 days to over 2 weeks
Cannabis stays the longest, which is why it is keenly tested here.
7. Take a Mock Test
If the stress of the procedure is getting to your head, then you can take a mock test at home to calm down your nerves. Take a 12 panel DIY drug test at your home, and you would feel more relaxed and less stressed before walking into the actual thing.
8. There Are Risky Options to Pass
Be it hair follicle drug testing or pee testing, there are risky ways for you to clear the drug test and come out on top, even with the drug in your body. However, we do not recommend these options.
These options are easier to pull in a pee test, and can more often than not be detected if the testing facility has the required checking procedures.
9. Detox Yourself If Needed
If you have been applying for positions and have a drug test to take within a month’s time, then you should know that detoxifying your body can be a possible method of clearing the drug from your body.
Take detox juices along with a detox diet to clear away the drug from your blood stream in a more comprehensive and sure-shot manner. However, there is nothing detox can do if you have a test tomorrow and you were busy smoking pot the night before.
10. Average Return Time
The average return time for the results to come by is 3 to 5 days. This means that you will have the results of your drug test in your hand within 5 days max. That wouldn’t be a lot of waiting.
