Drug testing is quite common when a person is applying for a job at a company that wishes to be known for having a drug free environment. If a person is arrested for a drug charge, it is common for drug testing to be part of a person’s punishment and/or probation. But what about drug testing in schools? Do you feel that this will keep your child safe? Will it help prevent your child from using drugs at all? Learn what you need to know about drug testing in schools so you can then make an informed decision regarding your child.

Drug use is universally a problem. Unfortunately, younger and younger children are using drugs. What can we blame for this increasing drug use in today’s times? We could blame television and movies, the glamorization of drugs. Perhaps we could throw a bit of blame toward the media and the celebrities whose pictures are splashed across headlines every time the word drug can be used. When it all boils down, the two main factors that may influence whether or not a child will experiment with drugs is prevention by his or her parents or guardians and peer pressure.

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In this day and age, it is pretty clear that drugs are out there, and it is easy for kids to get a hold of some if they want it. The bad thing is that drugs are no longer just found out on the streets, they can be found in your local school systems as well. However, there are different schools that do yearly drug tests on the students of that school. This is a good way to help keep kids off of drugs, and also inform the parents if their child is on drugs of any kind. This is the first big step to help keep our kids drug free, and keep our school system free from drugs as well.

Kids are able to get their hands on drugs a lot easier today than they used to a long time ago. Because of this fact, we are starting to see drugs pop up in locations that it should not, like our local school systems. This should be one place where your child can go where they do not have to worry about being confronted with drugs, however, that is not the case anymore. The good news is that many different schools are taking the right steps to help discourage kids from using drugs. In fact, in many schools across the United States of America, yearly drug tests are given on untold days to randomly screen for drugs. Because drugs stay in the system for a long time, it is hard for students to just not take any drugs before the drug test, because they are never sure when it is going to be. Because of the fear of the drug testing, this helps keep many kids from trying drugs in the first place. That makes just one less thing they have to worry about.

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Drug Detection Times refer to the “window” of detection for drugs of abuse. If a person is tested too soon or too long after use, drugs may not show up in human urine. Often someone will ask us, How long to drugs stay in the body? This short guide will help to answer that question. For the purposes of clarity, this guide is a reference for the detection of drugs of abuse found in human urine.

How long do drugs stay in your system? The length of time that the presence of drugs of abuse in the body can be detected is an important factor in drug screening. The chart below outlines approximate duration times. When interpreting the duration for the presence of drugs of abuse in the body, you must take into consideration variables including the body’s metabolism, the subjects physical condition, overall body fluid balance, state of hydration and frequency of usage.

Drug Detection Times in urine are expressed below in terms of lower and upper boundaries. The amount of time that a drug/metabolite remains detectable in urine can vary, depending on the following factors:

• Amount and Frequency of Use: Single, isolated, small doses are generally detectable at the lower boundary. Chronic and long-term use typically result in detection periods near or at the upper boundary.
• Age: In general, human metabolism slows with age, resulting in longer drug detection periods.
• Body Mass: In general, human metabolism slows with increased body mass, resulting in longer drug detection periods. In addition, THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) and PCP are known to accumulate in fatty lipid tissue. Chronic users, physically inactive users, and individuals with a high percentage of body fat in relation to total body mass are prone to longer drug detection periods for THC and PCP.
• Metabolic Rate: Individuals with slower body metabolism are prone to longer drug detection periods.
• Drug Tolerance: Users typically metabolize a drug faster once a tolerance to the drug is established.
• Overall Health: In general, human metabolism slows during periods of deteriorating health, resulting in longer drug detection periods.
• Urine pH: Urine pH can impact drug detection periods. Typically, highly acidic urine results in shorter drug detection periods.
• Note: In a small percentage of cases, users may test positive longer than times shown - most notably in cases of long-term chronic abuse, in individuals with significant body mass and/or body fat, and in individuals with health related issues resulting in abnormally slow body metabolism…

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