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  • High school to mandate drug testing...

    Chicago's #1 source for local and national news, sports, and business. WBBM Newsradio broadcasts on 780 AM & 105.9 FM.


    Some problems;

    1. Many prescription and non-prescription medications show as false positives of THC (marijuana's active ingredient) including such commonly used over the counter meds like Ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin, Excedrin IB & Advil), Naproxen (Aleve), Ketoprofen (Orudis KT) and some preparations of riboflavin (vitamin B2).

    2. You cna get a positive hit on tests for opiates by simply eating a poppyseed roll for breakfast. Yes; there is a small amount of opium in poppy seeds and the most commonly used tests are sensitive enough to pick it up. The false positive can persist for 24 hours or longer, depending on your individual physiology.

    Other meds that can cause false hits for opium are ephedrine (pseudophed), Nyquil, Contact, Robitussin cough syrups, Dexatrim, Vicks inhalers, Afrin, Bronkaid tablets (for asthmatics) etc. etc. Even some ADHD meds like Cylert can cause false positives, and given the number of kids being treated for ADHD....

    3. Medical conditions like kidney disease, diabetes and some liver conditions can also cause false positives for cocaine. So can the antibiotic Amoxicillin and drinks like tonic water.

    4. Diazepam (Valium; a tranquilizer and muscle relaxant often given after injuries) often tests positive for PCP, an animal tranquilizer that can cause psychotic side effects. So does the active ingredient in many cough medicines like Robitussin DM: dextromethorophan.

    If only things were simple....

    Dr. Mordrid
    Last edited by Dr Mordrid; 4 December 2003, 10:28.
    Dr. Mordrid
    ----------------------------
    An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

    I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

  • #2
    Doc, I'm a little surprised:

    The new drug tests are a hell of a lot better than they were even four years ago.

    I worked for an Aerospace company and there was mandatory drug testing: The subject of OTC drugs and Poppyseeds was addressed; There is an Enzyme difference between hard Opiates and Poppyseeds. The chemical test will show a positive, but the Enzyme test will show what it is. The same goes for newer Prescription and OTC Drugs: Most Drug Test Manufacturers issue new testing kits 2-3 times per year to deal with changes in common medications.

    Again, OTC drugs like Motrin and Naproxen have distinctive chemical markers that seperate them from THC. They don't just look for THC, they look for other combinations as a whole.

    Same thing goes for somebody with renal problems: If someone is off the chart, they can check for the presence of other things, like blood in the urine for instance, as a marker to not accept a false positive outright. You might fail on the dip test, but pass after the actual lab work is done. Someone who falls into this category might be taken aside and be told to see their doctor if they are unaware of their condition, though most people with kidney infections have no trouble at all noticing a problem.

    These tests are administered by nurses or technicians: you pee in a cup, and they put the termperature strip on the sample bottle, then they use a multicolored "dipstick" into the urine for a specified time: gross positive results for alcohol or can be used as a basis for suspending someone from work, but cannot used for termination grounds until certification. On the surface, someone could appear to fail the dip, but pass easily after the lab work is done.

    A Doctor certifies the results a couple of days after the actual test even though the test itself takes less than 5 minutes.

    (My wife works for a hospital that offers commercial drug testing - she's the one who told me how they check the results.)
    Last edited by MultimediaMan; 4 December 2003, 11:10.
    Hey, Donny! We got us a German who wants to die for his country... Oblige him. - Lt. Aldo Raine

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    • #3
      M^3,
      We're talking about schools here, not an aerospace company. They're not going to have the latest testing kit, and may be more than a few revisions behind. Also, they're only covering the first round of tests, and then it's the accused person's responsibility to pay for future testing.

      Also, anything done in schools is going to be done poorly compared to being done in a professional environment. Names will be leaked, and kids will be snubbed because of false positives. In the meantime, he'll also be stuck outside of school.
      Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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      • #4
        So what will they do to students who test positive?.. kick them out or help them kick the habit?
        We have enough youth - What we need is a fountain of smart!


        i7-920, 6GB DDR3-1600, HD4870X2, Dell 27" LCD

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        • #5
          TJalfe,

          The current situation is, they kick them out and force them into "drug rehab". This, it turns out, is the WORST thing you can do to a teenager, since the percentage of kids who WERE just experimenting but AFTER rehab become hardcore drug addicts is absurdly high, like 75%.

          The problem is that teenagers are still forming their identities and value systems. Now, you put them into a traditional treatment center, and they can't even THINK about getting out until they do they "steps". And "step 1" is admitting that you have a problem. If you were a first-time pot smoker, you don't "have a problem". So they force you, through intense counseling and group therapy, to admit that you have a problem.

          Then "step 2" is to FORCE you to admit that you are POWERLESS to resist drugs.

          So you're taking an impressionable, immature 13-year-old, who still thinks of him or herself as indestructible (and rightly so, that's normal and natural) and FORCING him or her to admit to being powerless to resist drugs.

          So when they get out, they go to a party, and they have no moral reserves left. Someone says "wanna joint?" and they say to themselves "I'm powerless to resist - it's not my fault" and take a hit... or two... or ten.

          It's an evil evil thing.

          My child will NEVER go to a school with mandatory drug testing, or ANY sort of enforced treatment program for drugs. If that means I'm paying for private school for all 12 years until college, so be it.

          The American public educational system can suck my dick.

          - Gurm
          The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

          I'm the least you could do
          If only life were as easy as you
          I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
          If only life were as easy as you
          I would still get screwed

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          • #6
            There are way more than the few practical problems doc mentioned, Wombat and tjalfe have mentioned a few of them. If the student is responsible for paying additional tests, many poor families will have little chance. Also, what good would it do to know if someone was doing drugs, if not to help them. Kicking them out of school would surely help paople who already have enough problems to actually become drug abusers. And THC is really in an altogether different league than Cocaine, Heroine, etc.

            AZ
            There's an Opera in my macbook.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Gurm
              My child will NEVER go to a school with mandatory drug testing, or ANY sort of enforced treatment program for drugs. If that means I'm paying for private school for all 12 years until college, so be it.

              The American public educational system can suck my dick.
              RTFA. This is a private school, not a public one. Also, public schools can't test you just for going to school (extracurricular is another story).
              Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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              • #8
                No, it's a Catholic school. Even worse.

                "First we put our hands on your breasts, THEN we send you to mandatory drug 're-education' to REALLY wreck your life."

                - Gurm
                Last edited by Gurm; 5 December 2003, 06:25.
                The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                I'm the least you could do
                If only life were as easy as you
                I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                If only life were as easy as you
                I would still get screwed

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hey now!

                  If they're in a Catholic church they're in it for the boys.

                  If they're in a Catholic <B>HS</B> they're in it for the <B>girls</B>.
                  Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a Q6600, 2GB Kingston HyperX (after *3* bad pairs of Crucial Ballistix 1066), Galaxy 8800GT 512MB, SB X-Fi, some drives, and a Dell 2005fpw. Running WinXP.

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                  • #10
                    Amended.
                    The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                    I'm the least you could do
                    If only life were as easy as you
                    I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                    If only life were as easy as you
                    I would still get screwed

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      AND ANOTHER THING...

                      So the public schools do it, but only for kids that want to play sports?

                      You all know how much I LOOOOOVE sports, and much as I'd like to see those kids get expelled on principle, the fairness part of my brain kicks in...

                      What ****ing justification do they have for drug testing JUST those kids who want to run track or play ball? If they're going to do that, they should drug test the chess club, too. I guaran-****ing-tee you there's as much drug abuse (different kinds of drugs, mind you) amongst the geeks as there is amongst the jocks.

                      And much as I'd like to see high school "athletes" discriminated against, it's really not fair now is it?

                      - Gurm
                      The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                      I'm the least you could do
                      If only life were as easy as you
                      I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                      If only life were as easy as you
                      I would still get screwed

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The main reason for testing those involved in sports is steroid abuse, not the other drugs, and this has been a major problem for over 20 years. This makes testing athletes perfectly in context as long as they do it right.

                        Dr. Mordrid
                        Dr. Mordrid
                        ----------------------------
                        An elephant is a mouse built to government specifications.

                        I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1,250 fps

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                        • #13
                          Ok, I can almost agree with that.

                          But only if it's competitive interscholastic-type athletics.

                          If they're just testing the entire intramural volleyball team that's ****ing retarded.

                          - Gurm
                          The Internet - where men are men, women are men, and teenage girls are FBI agents!

                          I'm the least you could do
                          If only life were as easy as you
                          I'm the least you could do, oh yeah
                          If only life were as easy as you
                          I would still get screwed

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