A report released at a national conference hosted by the Federal Transit Administration earlier this month shows that American workers in states with legalized marijuana are failing drug tests for the substance at an increasing rate. The study, by Quest Diagnostics, which monitors drug test results in all fifty states annually, found the average positivity rate for Colorado and the national number both sitting at 4.2 percent last year. The positivity rates for pot, however, varied widely.
Search Results: drug test (1054)
Today, February 21, as we’ve reported, Denver’s National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws branch is taking part in a lobbying day at the Colorado State Capitol during which lawmakers will get the chance to learn about a major element in the group’s attempt to fix drug-testing laws that put cannabis users at risk of being fired for lawful use. Specifically, they’ll be able to try out Alert Meter, which tests for impairment rather than relying on blood or fluid draws that Denver NORML sees as undependable and unfair.
James Terry gave United Parcel Service 32 years of his life.
The company canned him in April the first time he failed a drug test.
Terry tested positive for marijuana and amphetamines. But, as he explained to his bosses, he has a valid Arizona medical-marijuana card and a doctor’s prescription for Adderall. They wouldn’t budge.
Now Terry, a 53-year-old African-American man from Buckeye, is taking on the parcel giant in federal court.
Dear Stoner: Will CBD or THC topicals make me test positive for a urinalysis drug test?
Nicole
Dear Stoner: I’ve been trying to get a new job, so I use CBD when I can’t smoke weed. Last time I was tested, though, they found THC, even after using a detox that worked for my male friends, but not for me. How can I get this out of my system?
Maria
Dear Stoner: I use hemp CBD oil for stress and anxiety maybe once or twice a month. The CBD contains 0.04 percent THC, and I am worried it will show up in a drug test I took a week ago. Will I pass?
George
George
Dear Stoner: I recently made the mistake of eating a gummy bear with THC. I have not had any marijuana in years, but I have an upcoming drug test in seven days. Should I be concerned?
Tilly
Dear Tilly: Yes, Tilly, be concerned. Do hash and Haribos just taste the same to you? And who’s the asshole who tricked you into eating one? Address those two issues and you’ll probably never run into this dilemma again. I’ve had tons of idiot friends call me out of the blue, frantically asking if they were “good” after smoking a joint while in the Army or days before a random drug test, and I basically tell them all the same thing: It depends. It depends on your diet, your metabolism, the amount of THC you ingested, how you ingested it, how long since you last ingested THC and, most important, what sort of drug test it is. Drug tests that use hair or blood samples instead of urine or saliva can detect THC more accurately.
Dear Stoner: I have a drug test in a week and smoked weed ten days ago. I hadn’t smoked for a while before that. Will I be good? Should I be worried?
Prickly
Dear Prickly: It depends on what method the drug test uses to detect THC. If it’s a common urinalysis (piss test), you should be fine. According to the National Drug Court Institute, new or infrequent smokers are generally clean after four days, but that can change based on metabolism and smoking frequency. Still, you should chug water, pee a lot and sweat more until your test, just to be safe. But all you master cheefers out there thinking it’ll only take you a week to pass your piss test for a new job should think again: Everyday users usually have THC in their system for at least two months, but it can stick around for up to four months.
Just your average, .32-gram joint here.
The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.
A ProPublica investigation finds that field drug tests widely-used by police are unreliable and can turn up false positives.
A study in JAMA Psychiatry found that cannabis use disrupts the reward processing mechanism in the brain. The journal editorializes that more research into the plant’s effects on the brain is urgently needed.
Smoking cannabis and tobacco together, a practice more common in Europe than the U.S., may contribute to dependency on both, a study found. See the study here.
In Canada, border authorities have cracked down on shipments of CBD oil. In Australia, some children with epilepsy will have access to the CBD-based drug Epidiolex before trials are complete.
The average joint contains .32 grams of marijuana, researchers have learned. This is an important figure for tax assessments and public health studies, the Washington Post says.
The .32 number was obtained by a statistical analysis of arrest data. In the past, researchers have tried to learn it by asking subjects to compare joint-size to common objects or having subjects roll joints with oregano.
Uruguay’s law allows pharmacists to sell weed, but most don’t want to. A small political party in Japan wants to lift the national ban on MED research.
Synthetic cannabis is still very dangerous.
President Obama’s clemency initiative has commuted the sentences of more than 300 offenders with a focus on non-violent drug offenders. The New Yorker asks why nearly 12,000 prisoner petitions remain undecided.
A case in South Dakota highlights the practice of urine tests obtained by force, with a catheter. State Attorney General Marty Jackley (R) defended the practice on legal grounds, but said “I don’t think anyone wants to go through that methodology.”
The Texas Tribune tells the story of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who got romantically involved with a marijuana smuggler.
The Kind profiles Jeff Mizanskey, who until his release last year was the only man in Missouri serving life for a non-violent marijuana offense. He spent 21 years in prison.
| Rick Scott can’t stop thinking about pee. |
A federal judge told him to drop the plan. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals told him it was illegal. Then the U.S. Supreme Court refused to listen to his arguments. Even the facts are against him (the program wastes more money than it would ever “save”).
But despite losing over and over in every court around, Gov. Rick Scott is still fighting for the right to force state employees to pee in a cup. And the legal bills for his quixotic quest are now inching toward a cool million bucks — funded, of course, by taxpayers.