Urine Drug Testing

Urine Tests For Tobacco Use

2011-04-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

Breath mints won't cut it anymore for students who have been smoking in the bathroom - some schools around the country are administering urine tests to teenagers to find out whether they have been using tobacco.

Opponents say such testing violates students' rights and can keep them out of the extracurricular activities they need to stay on track. But some advocates say smoking in the boys' room is a ticket to more serious drug use.

"Some addicted drug users look back to cigarettes as the start of it all," said Jeff McAlpin, director of marketing for EDPM, a Birmingham drug-testing company.

Short of catching them in the act, school officials previously had no way of proving students had been smoking.

Testing students for drugs has spread in recent years and was given a boost in June when the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed random testing of those in extracurricular activities. Tobacco can easily be added to the usual battery of tests.

"I agree with it," said 16-year-old Vestavia Hills High School junior Rosemary Stafford, a member of the marching band. "It's illegal, it's addictive. Maybe the punishment shouldn't be as severe, but they should test for it."

In Alabama, where the legal age for purchasing and smoking tobacco products is 19, about a dozen districts, mostly in the Birmingham area, test for nicotine along with alcohol and several illegal drugs, including marijuana.

In most cases, the penalties for testing positive for cotinine - a metabolic byproduct that remains in the body after smoking or chewing tobacco - are the same as those for illegal drugs: The student's parents are notified and he or she is usually placed on school probation and briefly suspended from sports or other activities.

Alabama's Hoover school system randomly tested 679 of its 1,500 athletes for drug use this past school year. Fourteen high school students tested positive, 12 of them for tobacco.

Elsewhere around the country, schools in Blackford County, Ind., test for tobacco use in athletes, participants in other extracurricular activities, and students who take driver's education or apply for parking permits.

In Lockney, Texas, a federal judge recently struck down the district's testing of all students for the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

In Columbia County, Fla., the school board will vote Tuesday on a testing policy that would include tobacco. Teenagers who take part in extracurricular activities or apply for permits to drive to school would be screened.

"Tobacco does and will affect a larger majority of the students than alcohol or drugs," said Gloria Spizey, the county's coordinator for Safe and Drug-Free Schools. "Tobacco use can be devastating. We felt it needed to stand with the other drugs."

Screenings can detect cotinine for up to 10 days in regular smokers of about a half a pack, or 10 cigarettes, a day, McAlpin said. Experts say it is unlikely that cotinine would collect in people exposed to secondhand smoke.

"Tobacco is illegal for them to have - it's also a health and safety issue," said Phil Hastings, supervisor of safety and alternative education for schools in Decatur, which recently adopted a testing program that includes tobacco. "We've got a responsibility to let the kids know the dangers of tobacco use."

While random drug testing overall is being fought by the American Civil Liberties Union and students' rights groups, the addition of nicotine testing has drawn little opposition.

Guidelines published last month by the White House drug office do not specifically address tobacco testing.

"On tobacco, we have the same policy as on testing for drugs - it may not be right for every school and community," said Jennifer de Vallance, press secretary for the office. "We encourage parents and officials to assess the extent and nature of the tobacco problem."

Shawn Heller, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy in Washington, said tobacco use by teen-agers is a major problem, but testing for it is just another step in the invasion of students' privacy...

Passing Drug Test - What You Need To Do

2011-04-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

The best possible way in passing drug test is to abstain from drugs but if you cannot cope with abstinence or you are probably trying to keep your job and you can’t achieve except you tamper with the result of such drug test, then here are some tips that will actually help you out;

For urine testing, you can pass the test by avoiding masking or spiking your urine sample. Spiking or masking is a kind of method that can be used to throw off a testing equipment, when you try to mask you urine sample, drugs can be easily detected and you will certainly fail the drug test. You can consider diluting your urine sample in passing drug test, the addition of some certain fluids into your sample can help reduce the concentration of the metabolites in the sample, make sure you us warm water in diluting the sample as most laboratories will measure the temperature of the sample aside placing you in a room with no toilet zinc.

Internal dilution is another way of passing urine test, avoid drinking excessive water because it can make your urine become colourless { a colourless urine will raise suspicion and drinking excessive water may have adverse effect on your body, orange juice and some other fluid altering fluids can help in the neutralization of the contents of the drugs, you can then support the dilution with a minimum quantity of pure water.

Substitution is the last thing you can do and that is only if you are not caught in the act. Substitution can be regarded as an aggressive way of passing drug test. Substituting can be done by simply replacing your urine sample with that of another person or you can simply replace it with a synthetic sample. An example of a synthetic sample is the one that can be gotten when powdered materials are mixed with warm water. Substitution methods of passing drug test can be detected just like any other way, hence it must be carefully planned to avoid risks of getting into more trouble.

Niacin Drug Test

2011-04-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Niacin does not promise a “high” to the person who ingests large amounts of niacin. Why then does the following article talk about a “niacin drug test?” The fact is that those who offer advice on ways to rid the body of drugs frequently suggest the use of tablets that contain niacin. Niacin does play a role in the metabolism of fats, although there is little proof that the ingestion of excess amounts of niacin can help rid the body of stored drug metabolites. In fact, the drug user who chooses to eat large numbers of niacin-filled tablets could trigger a number of unwanted physiological changes.

Every drug user carries around a niacin drug test. The skin can disclose the presence in the bloodstream of a large amount of niacin. The ingestion of more than 2 grams of niacin leads to a flushing of the skin.

The ingestion of more than 2 grams of niacin causes the blood vessels to dilate. The dilated blood vessels send more blood into all parts of the body, including the face. The drug user with a flushed face can experience a sudden sense of warmth.

Drug users have taken to using niacin, in hopes of raising the level of metabolism in their bodies. Niacin, also known as Vitamin B3, speeds fat metabolism. Drug users look to niacin as a way to drive toxins (such as drug metabolites) out of their body fat.

Drug users like the fact that niacin is so easy to obtain. A number of food supplements contain niacin. Doctors advise patients to take-in no more than 1.5 mg of niacin every day.

Drug users who have chosen to ignore the recommendation from medical professionals put their health (and possibly their lives) at risk. The ingestion of large amounts of niacin can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), nausea, vomiting and dizziness. The drug user who ingests a large amount of niacin can also suffer damage to the liver.

Drug users might try to enhance the effect of niacin by drinking alcohol or a hot beverage while taking any of the niacin-containing tablets. Drug users can enjoy the benefits of stronger niacin by using an extended release tablet. Of course, any attempt to strengthen the desired effect of the niacin also strengthens the expected side effects.

Certain medical conditions serve to heighten the side effects caused by ingesting a large amount of niacin. Drug users with certain medical conditions should stay away from any form of drug removal that calls for use of niacin.

Niacin appears to increase blood sugar levels in diabetics. Large doses of niacin may be harmful if ingested by pregnant women. A new mother who is also a drug user should know that niacin enters breast milk. Her milk can thus serve as a type of niacin drug test.

No person who is using a medication with colestipol or cholestyramine should look to niacin as a safe and easy way to get rid of stored drug metabolites. No person who is using a blood thinner should plan to swallow large numbers of supplement tablets, tablets that contain niacin.

No patient who has received a prescription for blood pressure medicine should purchase niacin tablets while filling that prescription. No person who is taking any sort of heart medication should think about mixing that drug with a large amount of niacin.