It's said that 75% of the earth's surface is covered by water. At the rate the piss testing industry is growing worldwide we'll soon have to change that to 'urine.'

 

This modern equivalent of'witchfinding' has grown alongside America's'war on drugs'. The rationale for it is simple. The threat of testing deters people from using illegal drugs in the first place; it can catch those who are using drugs and, in the case of Class A users, it can make sure they're punished and/or treated. This simple (or simple minded) logic has helped to foster a huge multi-billion dollar industry in the USA as lines of employees, sportspeople, schoolkids, students, drug treatment clients, arrestees, prisoners and parolees queue up for their turn with the 'bladder police.' Millions of Americans now have to submit to this degrading and humiliating ritual and as the US anti-prohibitionist, Ethan Nadelmann, says: 'Many now do it without thinking twice. In some respects, drug testing is rapidly becoming as much a national tradition as mom and apple pie.' The fact that millions of Americans continue taking drugs without bothering about testing and that many of those tested don't use drugs anyway doesn't get in the way of the piss testers. They just want to make a buck. And with blood, sweat, saliva and hair to go at as well, they look set to carry on raking it in.

What we don't want in this country is for piss testing to become as much a national tradition as the FA Cup or the monarchy. According to Roger Howard, Chief Executive of DrugScope, New Labour is 'preoccupied with drug testing as a way to get people to change their behaviour when all the evidence shows that it is drug treatment that brings about reductions in drug misuse and hence in criminal activity'. But there's a definite danger that we could end up like the Yanks, up to our knees in a lake of piss- what with the growth of workplace testing, worried parents wanting a way of checking out what their kids are up to, the threatened crack down on drugs and driving, prison drug testing, (including testing prison-based drug workers), and now the threat to test persons in police custody. As P J O'Rourke once said: 'If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs; we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.' So don't test the people, test this government! We're pretty sure they'd test positive on every one of these measures.

 
Reference: P25 The Department of Health, Drug Misuse and dependence - guidelines on clinical management. 1999. THE DRUG TESTING FAQ (V.4.11) http:/www.cocaine.org/faq. There is loads of stuff on the net on testing (including blood, saliva, sweat, hair). The Drug Testing FAQ cited above would appear to be the most useful single source of information but you should visit the net yourself. California NORML is another useful site.

 

But forewarned is forearmed! Be guided by the table we have provided, but remember this is not rocket science.

DETECTION TIMES VARY DEPENDING ON THE ANALYTICAL METHOD USED, DRUG METABOLISM, TOLERANCE, PATIENT'S CONDITION, AGE, FLUID INTAKE AND METHOD AND FREQUENCY OF INGESTION. THESE ARE GENERAL GUIDELINES ONLY!!!!!!!!!

 

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TIME SELECTED DRUGS CAN BE DETECTED IN YOUR URINE

 

DRUG
Amphetamines
Benzodiazepines -
Ultra short acting
(e.g. Midazolam
short acting
(e.g. Triazolam)
Intermediate acting
(e.g. Temazepam / Chlordiazepoxide)
Long acting
(e.g. Diazepam/Nitrazepam)
Cocaine metabolites
Methadone (maintenance dosing)
Methadone (one off)
Heroin/Codeine/Morphine
(nb: Heroin is detected in urine as the metabolite morphine)
Cannabinoids (Marijuana)
Single use
Moderate use (4 times per week)
Heavy use (daily) Chronic heavy use







 LENGTH OF TIME DRUG CAN BE DETEXTED
48 hours
a
a
12 hours
a
24 hours
a
a
40-80 hours
a
7 days
2-3 days
a
7-9 days (approximate)
3-5 days (approximate)
a
a
48 hours
This Is The Tricky One. You Get All Sorts Of Answers When You Look At The Different Sources Of Information On Drug Testing. So We Spoke To A Toxicologist Who Told Us The Following: There Is Too Much Human Variation To Even Approximate How Long Cannabis Will Be Present In The Urine Of Anyone Individual. Occasional Users With A Fast Metabolism Will Have The Shortest Detection Time. Frequent Users With A Slow Metabolism Will Have Long Detection Times.the Only Way To Estimate A Detection Time Is To Consider The Fact That Cannabis Can Stay In The Urine Between 3 Ð 30+ Days, Decide What Category Of User You Are And Then Take Into Account Your Metabolism, Type Of Weed Used (skunk Lasts Longer), Age, Weight, Amount You Drink Etc., Etc. N.b. Chronic Heavy Users Have Been Known To Test Positive Up To 6-8 Weeks After Last Use!