How Drug Tests Work

If you’re a regular user of therapeutic and/or recreational drugs like cannabis, kratom, or mushrooms, then it’s a good idea to get a basic understanding of how drug tests work. This article will acquaint you with things like:

·       What drugs are usually tested for on drug tests?

·       How sensitive are standard drug tests?

·       If a drug is not on a standard drug test, will it still show up?

·       How long do different drugs stay in your system?

Types of Drug Tests

Most people will encounter drug tests as part of pre-employment background checks, or for routine employment testing, depending on your occupation.

The most common types of drug tests are the 5 panel drug test and the 10 panel drug tests. Each “panel” of the test looks for a drug, or a group of drugs with similar markers. For example, opiates can be tested together as a group in one panel. Cocaine, on the other hand, gets its own panel because it doesn’t share metabolic markers with any other commonly abused substances.

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What is a 5 Panel Drug Test?

A 5 panel drug test is the most basic standard drug test. This type of test is a quick and economical urine analysis. It uses an immunoassay, where test strips are embedded with antibodies. Those antibodies allow for the rapid detection of chemical markers in the sample.

In other words, if you have consumed one of the drugs on the 5 panel drug test and the metabolite is still in your system, it will show up in your urine. When your urine is tested using the immunoassay, the drug test will be positive for that metabolite.

Since these tests are designed to be quick and economical, they do have a relatively high rate of false positives. Therefore, if a positive is found, the same urine sample is subject to subsequent testing.

The subsequent testing is more time consuming, more expensive, and – obviously – more accurate. Usually, a gold standard technique such as chromatography – mass spectrometry will be used. This basically eliminates the risk of false positives.

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What Does a 5 Panel Drug Test Test For?

A 5 panel drug test tests for the following substances:

1.       Opiates

2.       Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

3.       Phencyclidine (PCP)

4.       Amphetamines (e.g. methamphetamine, Speed, Adderall)

5.       Cocaine

THC is the most abundant cannabinoid in cannabis. If you are a cannabis user, then you will test positive on a 5 panel drug test.

What is a 10 Panel Drug Test?

A 10 panel drug test is an immunoassay, which works exactly like a 5 panel drug test. However, it tests for twice as many drugs. Just like with a 5 panel drug test, there is a significant risk of false positives. Any positive sample will be subjected to further, more accurate testing to make sure it is a true positive result.

What Does a 10 Panel Drug Test Test For?

In addition to all of the drugs on a 5 panel drug test, a 10 panel drug test also tests for the following:

6.       Barbiturates

7.       Benzodiazepines (e.g. Valium, Xanax)

8.       Methadone

9.       Methaqualone

10.   Propoxyphene

How Far Back Does a Lab Urine Test Go?

Remember that a urine test is looking for metabolites from drugs that you have consumed. Many drugs are metabolized in your body and eliminated via the urine. There are several variables which affect how long a drug remains detectable in the urine. Here are some factors that may come into play:

·       The type of drug

·       Your personal genetics and metabolic rate

·       Your age and body composition

·       How often and how heavily you use the drug

·       How long you have been using the drug

·       The presence of other interacting drugs that can influence metabolism and elimination

Here are some examples of common drugs, and how long (approximately) you can expect them to remain detectable in your urine:

Cannabis/THC/cannabinoids: up to 7 days for a single use, or as many as 30 days for chronic and heavy use

Cocaine: 4 days

Opiates: 4 days

Additionally, if the test uses a biological sample other than urine, such as hair or blood, this can also affect the positive testing window.

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How to Find a 5 or 10 Panel Drug Test Near Me

There are multiple drug testing labs that offer services of 5 and 10 panel drug tests, as well as other specific drugs. If you are subject to employment drug tests, then your employer likely has a company that they already work with. You can also order a home drug test for your personal information. You can use a home urine analysis from a reputable company to monitor your own drug use, or to verify that your system has adequately eliminated drug metabolites.

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Do Other Cannabinoids Result in a Positive THC Result?

Hopefully you’ve realized that if you’ve been smoking weed recently, chronically, and/or heavily, it is likely to show up on a standard drug test.

But many people use exclusively “pure” CBD products, or alternative psychotropic cannabinoids like delta-8-THC. Will these cannabinoids cause a positive (failed) drug test?

Actually, it’s possible. Although CBD, cannabidiol, is distinct from THC and should not cause a positive test, many CBD products may be contaminated with trace amounts of THC. The same goes for other cannabinoids, whether psychotropic or not.

Many cannabinoids are also very structurally similar. While they may cause a false positive on a basic immunoassay, it should be possible to differentiate them using a more sensitive and accurate technique like mass spectrometry.

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What’s Not on a Standard Drug Test?

You may have noticed that there are some drugs that are conspicuously absent from the 5 and 10 panel drug tests.

For example, a relatively novel (at least in the West) drug such as kratom is not listed on the standard drug panels. Kratom will not cause a positive result. If someone had a reason to look for it specifically, it would be possible, but it would require more advanced testing. However, kratom is legal in most places.

Another popular recreational drug missing from the 10 panel drug list is psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. In fact, magic mushrooms do not show up on a drug test, despite the fact that psilocybin is a Schedule I drug in the United States. However, if a chemist had a reason to look for psilocybin in a biological sample, they would be able to find it for up to a week or so following consumption.

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Where to Buy Legal Hemp Products

Cannabinoid products are legal under federal law, as long as they are hemp-derived. You should also check for additional regulations in your local jurisdiction.

Naturally, as with any drug, you should always source your products from a reputable source. When it comes to cannabinoids, you have a lot of options and the choices can feel overwhelming.

Luckily, Green Dragon CBD has curated a list of our favorite hemp products from 3^rd-party tested brands you can count on.

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As always, if you have any questions about our products, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.