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Drug Test

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Kevalier

Go with the Flo!
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So, I was offered a job at a company yesterday after three interviews with the last one consisting of me giving a fifteen minute presentation. I was feeling excited up until they sent me an email regarding the mandatory drug screening, which is a hair test and not based on a urine sample. I’m not a frequent smoker whatsoever, but I did smoke almost three weeks ago at a concert in NYC. Again though, I rarely ever do smoke and it may have been the only time I have this year. With that said, should I be concerned that I will fail the drug test? I’ve asked several people and have received various answers. I took the test this morning, and I’ll probably be an anxious mess until the results are sent to me.
 
Hair testing
Hair follicle tests assess drug use for up to 90 days. After use, weed reaches the hair follicles via small blood vessels. Trace amounts may remain in the hair.
Since hair grows approximately 0.5 inches per month, a 1.5-inch hair segment taken close to the scalp can provide a window of weed use for the past three months.

Sounds like you're boned.
 
So, I was offered a job at a company yesterday after three interviews with the last one consisting of me giving a fifteen minute presentation. I was feeling excited up until they sent me an email regarding the mandatory drug screening, which is a hair test and not based on a urine sample. I’m not a frequent smoker whatsoever, but I did smoke almost three weeks ago at a concert in NYC. Again though, I rarely ever do smoke and it may have been the only time I have this year. With that said, should I be concerned that I will fail the drug test? I’ve asked several people and have received various answers. I took the test this morning, and I’ll probably be an anxious mess until the results are sent to me.

Just shave all the hair off your body clean, tell them you have alopecia
 
Hair testing
Hair follicle tests assess drug use for up to 90 days. After use, weed reaches the hair follicles via small blood vessels. Trace amounts may remain in the hair.
Since hair grows approximately 0.5 inches per month, a 1.5-inch hair segment taken close to the scalp can provide a window of weed use for the past three months.

Sounds like you're boned.

I’ve read the same thing, but I’ve also read where hair tests can only detect recent use and not chronic use. My friend, who is a chemist, assured me that I have nothing to be concerned about since I’m such an infrequent user.
 
Well I hope he's right and the interweb is wrong, for your sake :)
 
This is what I found, it backs your friend up.

The test will not detect single use of a drug. Cocaine and methamphetamine are probably the most readily incorporated into hair and they are likely to return a positive test if used more than three times during the growing period, while most other drugs must be used at least a dozen times within the time for detection.
 
This is what I found, it backs your friend up.

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Reading this, it seems they should always use the hair test, but I know its more expensive.

The hair test is a 90 day window, but it is for detecting abuse while the urine test has as little as 3 day window and detects use. THC is the exception on urine as it stays in your system for 30-60 days but isnt as detectable in the hair.

If you are really trying to get someone abusing meth, heroin or coke or something serious, the hair test is the way to go. It wont detect single use, but for sure it will detect someone abusing crack, unlike the urnine test where crack is out of your system in 3-5 days.

Basically urine test is for weed, hair test for everything else.
 
So, I was offered a job at a company yesterday after three interviews with the last one consisting of me giving a fifteen minute presentation. I was feeling excited up until they sent me an email regarding the mandatory drug screening, which is a hair test and not based on a urine sample. I’m not a frequent smoker whatsoever, but I did smoke almost three weeks ago at a concert in NYC. Again though, I rarely ever do smoke and it may have been the only time I have this year. With that said, should I be concerned that I will fail the drug test? I’ve asked several people and have received various answers. I took the test this morning, and I’ll probably be an anxious mess until the results are sent to me.

Be up front with the company or the HR person you are dealing with. They don't want to go thru all the paperwork and have you in the door to have a fail drug test then have to start the whole interview process over again. I've heard from a couple different people that alot of companies don't test for weed or have a extremely high threshold for it to be a failed test. They are mostly testing for hardcore drugs.

If you just say exactly what you just said to us to the HR person, they will let you know if you have to be worried or not.
 
Reading this, it seems they should always use the hair test, but I know its more expensive.

The hair test is a 90 day window, but it is for detecting abuse while the urine test has as little as 3 day window and detects use. THC is the exception on urine as it stays in your system for 30-60 days but isnt as detectable in the hair.

If you are really trying to get someone abusing meth, heroin or coke or something serious, the hair test is the way to go. It wont detect single use, but for sure it will detect someone abusing crack, unlike the urnine test where crack is out of your system in 3-5 days.

Basically urine test is for weed, hair test for everything else.

Thanks for taking the time to look into this for me. Sincerely appreciated, man.

Don't take a job that drug tests you. On principle.

Agreed, but I’ve got bills to pay and cats to feed.
 
Be up front with the company or the HR person you are dealing with. They don't want to go thru all the paperwork and have you in the door to have a fail drug test then have to start the whole interview process over again. I've heard from a couple different people that alot of companies don't test for weed or have a extremely high threshold for it to be a failed test. They are mostly testing for hardcore drugs.

If you just say exactly what you just said to us to the HR person, they will let you know if you have to be worried or not.

Yeah, I thought about being proactive and just telling them about smoking once this year at a Dead and Company concert, where I probably also picked up secondhand smoke.
 
Yeah, I thought about being proactive and just telling them about smoking once this year at a Dead and Company concert, where I probably also picked up secondhand smoke.

I knew someone who did exact this and the HR person's response was "hahaha, no we don't test for weed. We wouldn't have anyone work here if we did". This was a fortune 500 company.
 

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