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…

Drug Detection Times in Urine

• Alcohol 24 hours or less
• Amphetamines 1 to 4 days
• Barbiturates Short-acting: 1 to 3 days

Long-acting: 1 to 3 weeks

• Benzodiazepines Short-term Therapeutic Use: 1 to 3 days

Long-term / Chronic Use: 1 to 3 weeks

• Cocaine 1 to 5 days
• LSD 1 to 2 days
• Marijuana (THC) Casual Use: 1 to 7 days

Long-Term / Chronic Use: 1 to 4 weeks Note: THC, the primary active ingredient in marijuana, is stored by the body in fatty lipid tissue. From there, it is slowly released into the bloodstream for up to several weeks – depending on the amount and frequency of use and the user’s level of physical activity.

In chronic and physically inactive users, THC may accumulate in fatty tissues faster than it can be eliminated. This accumulation leads to longer detection periods for these individuals. Also, users with a high percentage of body fat in relation to total body mass are prone to longer drug detection periods for THC.

• MDMA (Ecstasy) 1 to 4 days
• Methadone 1 to 4 days
• Methamphetamines 1 to 4 days
• Opiates 1 to 5 days
• PCP (Phencyclidine) Casual Use: 1 to 7 days

Long-Term / Chronic Use: 1 to 4 weeks Note: PCP is stored by the body in fatty lipid tissue. From there, it is slowly released into the bloodstream for up to several weeks – depending on the amount and frequency of use and the user’s level of physical activity. In chronic and physically inactive users, PCP may accumulate in fatty tissues faster than it can be eliminated. This accumulation leads to longer detection periods for these individuals. Also, users with a high percentage of body fat in relation to total body mass are prone to longer drug detection periods for PCP.

For complete information on Drug Testing, visit DrugTestingResource.com

Article Source: EzineArticles.com expert – Steve Sandlin

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Drug testing in the United States basically began in the late 1980’s with the testing of certain federal employees and specified DOT regulated occupations. Drug testing guidelines and processes, in these areas exclusively, are established and regulated (by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, formerly under the direction of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA) require that companies who use professional drivers, specified safety sensitive transportation and/or oil and gas related occupations, and certain federal employers, test them for the presence of certain drugs. These test classes were established decades ago, and include five specific drug groups. They do not account for current drug usage patterns. For example, the tests do not include “synthetic opiates”, such as oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, etc., compounds that are highly abused in America:

• Amphetamines (amphetamines, methamphetamine, speed)
• Cannabinoids (marijuana, hashish)
• Cocaine (cocaine, crack, benzoylecognine)
• Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

Drug Testing Kits:

While SAMHSA/NIDA guidelines only allow labs to report quantitative results for the “NIDA-5″ on their official NIDA tests, many drug testing labs and on-site tests also offer a wider or “more appropriate” set of drug screens which are more reflective of current drug abuse patterns. As noted above, these tests include synthetic pain killers such as Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Restoril) and barbiturates in other drug panels (a “panel” is a predetermined list of tests to run). The confirmation test (usually GCMS) can tell the difference between methamphetamine and ecstasy, and in the absence of detectable amounts of methamphetamine in the sample, the lab will either report the sample as negative or report it as positive for MDMA…

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This is 2 times the rate for drivers returning a positive result for driving while under the influence of alcohol when breath tested.

Police had planned to announce the staggering results for the drug bus last week, but delayed doing so because of the Bracks Government’s ministerial reshuffle, which saw Tim Holding elevated to the Police Minister’s portfolio and Andre Haermeyer relegated to Manufacturing, Export and Small Business.

The announcement, now expected to be made within days, is likely to show that more than one in every 100 drivers drug tested by police returned a positive result after laboratory analysis.

The yearly average strike rate for motorists caught drink-driving is about one in every 250 tested.

In one operation alone, targeting the Summerdayze dance festival on January 1, police sources said almost one in 10 drivers tested returned initial positive results.

Sources have told The Sunday Age that about 1500 motorists have already been tested under the drug-driving testing program, with more than 15 returning positive laboratory results.

In 2003, almost a third of drivers killed on Victoria’s roads had drugs other than alcohol in their system, and in a number of recent years, more people have been killed with drugs other than alcohol in their system than those killed with a blood-alcohol reading above .05.

Since the introduction of random roadside drug testing in Victoria on December 13, a number of drivers had already been issued with penalty notices for a first drug-driving offence.

If a driver returns a positive result from a roadside drug test, he or she is then taken to the police bus for a second test. A second positive result is then sent to a laboratory for testing, which can take up to 14 days. Only after a positive laboratory result is a driver prosecuted for a drug-driving offence…

Full Story at TheAge.com.au

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