|
WELCOME TO THE DRUG OF ABUSE
TESTING INFORMATION CENTER
|
| Q.
At my understanding, the rapid test kits
industry is a new and very modern. Could
you please tell me more about it?
A. The development of rapid
diagnostic testing has become a valuable
tool in the healthcare industry for both
the provider and the public. Rapid diagnostic
tests can provide results that are up to
99 percent accurate if used correctly for
the testing of pregnancy, ovulation, drug
use, blood sugar levels, various proteins,
sexually transmitted diseases, hormones,
and other various conditions in the body
in which a quick turn-around in results
is important. For a clinician, rapid testing
is particularly valuable because it offers
quick and reliable results. This is especially
important in low-resource settings, where
patients frequently do not return for the
follow-up of their test results. This scenario
can be not only frustrating for the health
care provider, but also possibly consequential
to the patient if the test indicates that
the person is at risks for a specific health
condition as specified by the results of
the rapid testing. Thus, accurate, easy
to use tests, that require little, or no
processing, and are cost-effective, may
not only save lives, but also on the whole
contribute to the overall well-being of
the individual and the community at large.
Rapid Diagnostic testing is a valuable tool
for identifying or ruling-out diseases in
asymptomatic patients, making an initial
diagnosis, recommending further testing
based on results, and monitor existing treatments.
Rapid diagnostic testing, regardless of
the specific test, is regulated by an outside
agency such as the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and thus can be relied upon for accurate,
quick, easy to use test results.
Q. Are there legal drugs that I
could list as taken which would cause a
false positive?
A. There are more than
250 over-the-counter medications and prescription
drugs that could cause a False Positive.
Filling out the lab test form to include
over the counter medications that cause
the same positive results as the illegal
drug that might be consumed would be a good
idea. If a positive result occurs on the
test, a basis will have been laid for an
appeal. Remember that the negative error
rate is just as large or larger than the
positive error rate. Many people using drugs
escape detection. Pain relievers such as
Advil, Nuprin, Motrin, Midol, Trendar and
Ibuprofen are known to cause false positives
for Marijuana use. Second hand smoke inhalation
from a rock concert or from being with someone
who is smoking marijuana could also cause
a false positive for THC. Hemp seed products,
such as hemp burgers or food products containing
hemp oil will also cause false positives
for THC. Twelve ounces of hemp seed products
ingested before a test will cause you to
fail your test and has held up as a defense
in at least two federal court cases. Dristan
Nasal Spray, Neosynephren, Vicks Nasal Spray,
Sudafed and other medications containing
ephedrine or phenypropanolamine could cause
a false positive reading for Amphetamines.
Vicks Formula 44M containing Dextromethorphan,
and Primatene-M containing perylamine as
well as the pain reliever Demerol, Quinine
water, poppy seeds and prescription anti-depressant
Elavil will cause a false positive for opiates.
Nyquil Nighttime Cold Medicine will cause
a false positive for Methadone. Antibiotics
such as Ampicillin and Amoxicillin will
cause a false positive for cocaine. Diasepam
as well as Dextromethorophan (an ingredient
in some cough medicines) will cause a false
positive for PCP.
|
To visit our drug
testing products on-line store, CLICK HERE, Please!
School officials not surprised
to see opposition to drug-testing policy
8/5/2005
By Tippi Rasp
Staff Writer
Neither Enid Public Schools superintendent
nor the board president were surprised to learn some
students are protesting the school’s new drug testing
policy.
“I’m not a bit surprised,” Superintendent Kem Keithly
said, adding members of the drug testing committee,
made up of parents, students, teachers and one administrator
and board member, took its time studying the issue
and settled on what they thought was the best model
for testing.
Board President David Meara also wasn’t
surprised at the timing of the protests.
“It’s America, we wait until we get
slapped in the face,” before we react, he said.
The board commissioned a group to study
the issue nearly a year ago and asked for public input
at a hearing in May. No one opposed to the policy
voiced an opinion or asked questions about the policy
during the meeting.
This week, the district be-gan testing
students involved in activities governed by Okla-homa
Second-ary School Ac-tivities Associa-tion — about
1,300 eighth- through 12th-grade students in all.
Keithly and Meara both said administrators
and board members have an obligation to students to
try and find the most effective method of helping
students deal with destructive behaviors.
“We’ve just got to keep trying,” Keithly
said. “I’m not sure it’s going to work for everyone.”
Keithly said he also wasn’t surprised
to hear rumors of students trying a number of tricks
to “beat the test.”
“We talked about it,” he said. “There’s
not a whole lot you can do (about that).”
Meara said the committee had great resources
and talked to administrators at schools already implementing
a program before they settled on policy. He said one
administrator said his school saw a 50 percent reduction
in positive tests.
Meara said the district uses a number
of drug prevention and education programs in the classroom,
but the new policy is “simply another tool to employ
to help these young people.”
And, Meara said, he doesn’t want to
diminish the concerns of students and parents. There
are pros and cons to testing, and he said he understands
the difficulties associated with the policy and the
method of testing.
But, he said he also believes the policy
is important because many times parents don’t want
to believe their child is doing drugs. The district
is simply trying another tool because the funds became
available and the board was willing to pursue the
opportunity, he said.
But some parents are upset because they
be-lieve the testing is jeopardizing their children’s
futures.
Doris Longley said her daughter, Allura,
15, an A-plus student who is on the speech and debate
team, takes a number of medications that could make
her test positive. Her severe asthma is combated by
daily doses of steroids.
“Her medicines are going to make her
test dirty,” Doris Longley said.
Longley said it isn’t fair for only
a select group of students to be tested and wants
all students tested if any at all. However, federal
law only allows testing students participating in
the outlined extracurricular activities.
The policy governs tobacco, alcohol,
illegal and performance-enhancing drugs use by students
participating in extracurricular activities, according
to the policy. Just because the policy governs those
drugs doesn’t necessarily mean the district is testing
for those particular drugs. Keithly said the first
baseline test includes a nine-panel test.
Students can be tested up to 12 times
per year. Punishment for a positive drug test is suspension
from participation in all scheduled games, competitions,
performances or scrimmages for 10 to 88 days.
First- and second-offense suspensions
are subject to reduction if the student adheres to
certain conditions, including substance abuse counseling.
The third offense — an 88-day suspension — requires
the student’s suspension in all activities, including
meetings, practices, performances and competition
and may carry over to the next school year.
The district cannot require students
to take counseling, Keithly has said, but a student’s
suspension for first and second offenses can be reduced
if they agree to and follow through with counseling.
The policy this year is being funded
by a $25,000 donation to the district from Champlin
Foundation.
Hiram Champlin, one of four Champlin
Foundation trustees, has said he realizes drug testing
doesn’t provide an end-all solution to the problem,
but it might add another excuse to the list of reasons
students should stay drug-free.
Students against the new policy contend
research posted on Web sites such as www.drugtestingfails.org
and www.drugpolicy.org shows drug testing not only
doesn’t work but it puts more students at risk.
Some students who are unhappy with the
policy have said they feel like they are being punished
for something they haven’t done.
|
|
