Validity of Drug Tests Questioned August 9, 2002
News Summary
Job applicants and workers are routinely denied employment on the basis of positive drug tests, but many of these tests are only moderately accurate, U.S. News and World Report reported Aug. 12.Half of all U.S. employers and more than 500 school districts routinely perform drug tests, typically with serious consequences for those who fail. But tests can be fooled by look-alike chemical found in food and over-the-counter medications. And the fastest-growing type of drug tests -- cheap, onsite testing tools that costs as little as $3 each -- are the least accurate.
Such tests are accurate only one-third of the time, some studies say. Laboratory tests are more reliable -- but also far more expensive. Other methods of screening, like hair-testing and "sweat patches," are vulnerable to contamination by stray molecules in the atmosphere, according to researchers.
Manufacturers of the hair tests and sweat patches insist that their products are accurate in most cases. "You could be in a crack den and you won't test positive," said Raymond Kubacki of Psychemedics Corp., a hair-testing firm. However, a highly respected Boston police officer, Ronnie Jones, says that's exactly what happened to him when he tested positive for cocaine in a drug screening last year. A follow-up test was negative.
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