Understanding How Drug Testing Works

Drug testing in Wisconsin – how does it work?

Drug testing has become common practice in a number of situations in Wisconsin. You may have to pass a drug test for employment, for insurance, as a condition of probation, or to show you are not under the influence of a controlled substance. Unfortunately, most people don’t really understand how drug tests work. This leads to confusion and false expectations of the process.

To learn more about what you should expect if you have to take a drug test in Wisconsin, read on.

How Do Drug Tests Work?

A typical drug test requires you to give a urine sample for testing. The most common tests check your system for levels of marijuana, opiates, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy. Many different tests exist, though, including individual tests for most controlled substances or broader test panels. Some of these tests provide instant results. Others must undergo lab analysis before they can provide results. Understanding what type of test you are taking can help set your expectations properly.

Are Drug Tests Accurate?

While accuracy for these tests can vary somewhat, they tend to identify markers of drugs in your system with high accuracy. Only a small number of false positives result from testing. Further, labs generally keep samples so that if you claim a false positive, the sample can then be re-tested.

The only way to beat a drug test is to avoid taking the substances for which it is testing. Typically this means at least 2-4 days of abstaining. However, it can take 60-90 days for marijuana to be out of your system. Further, trying to flush markers of drug use out with water usually does not work; tests identify water as a masking agent that may invalidate a test and require a new sample.

Legal Help for Test Results

Instead of challenging the results themselves, your attorney may look at whether the test was properly administered, or in the case of a criminal charge, whether a police officer had probable cause to obtain the test. Legal remedies are available; an experienced attorney at Eisenberg Law Offices can help you protect your rights.