Urine drug tests are a fact of life today, whether you are applying for a new job or joining an athletic organization. Most people will have to take a drug test at one point or another in their life. Although you may be the most qualified and skilled individual for a specific position, the company or organization can still refuse to accept you based on activities within your personal life. While most people would agree that drug testing is an invasion of privacy, the practice is not going to disappear anytime soon. So you may as well learn how to effectively prepare yourself in case you’re required to pass a urine drug test.
Urine Drug Tests – Why You Should Be Particularly Concerned About Them
While there are other forms of testing, the type that you will almost always face is a urine drug test. The process is very straightforward. Once your organization informs you that you need to submit to a drug test, you will have to visit a drug testing laboratory within their specific window of time. After submitting a sample of your urine to the laboratory, it will be checked for the presence of opiates, marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine and amphetamines. Most every drug besides marijuana leaves your system within a few days to a week, so urine drug tests are of particular concern to pot smokers. Evidence of marijuana use can linger in your body for up to a month.
Once the laboratory has finished its analysis, your organization will receive a report showing whether you tested positive or negative for each substance. In some cases the lab will give you the results of your urine test before sharing them with your employer. If you fail your test for any reason, even if you have never used drugs in your life, be warned that you face an uphill battle proving your innocence.
Detection Periods For Urine Drug Tests
When faced with a drug test, many people first try to figure out how long marijuana stays in your system, and how long they need to stay clean. Although a quick Google search will return tens of thousands of websites with detection time tables, every single one is simply an estimate. Factors such as usage frequency and the composition of your body all play a role in the length of the detection period. This means your detection period could be significantly different from someone else in a similar situation. No two people will be exactly alike when it comes to figuring out whether or not you’re clean enough to pass a urine drug test.
The only 100% guaranteed way to pass a urine drug test is with some form of substitution. You can either substitute with the urine of someone you know (as long as you know they’re clean), or you can use real powdered urine. Of course, substitution is difficult if your drug test is supervised, but for some people it’s worth the risk. After substitution, the next most reliable way to pass a drug test is dilution. Dilution involves drinking a large volume of water on the day of your test, and then taking supplements that will hide the fact that you’re diluting from the lab. If done properly dilution has a success rate of around 99%, so it is still considered very reliable.
The Last Resort for Passing a Urine Drug Test
There are also many commercial detox drinks on the market that are touted to help someone pass a drug test. Their effectiveness rate is much lower than either substitution or the home dilution method, although some people swear by them. The bottom line is that if you need to pass a urine drug test, examine all your options and then make the choice that seems right for your situation.
January 18th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
i have aperscription for ibuprofen 800 mg willthis help or harm my chances of passing a urine test for marijuana
September 18th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Hey Dee,
It has now been 5 and a half days since I smoked weed for the first time ever mixed with hookah. A took only a few puffs of it. I drank a lot of water befor my drug test on Wed and now they just called me to let me know that I have to take a new test as my last one was way too diluted. Do you think I’ll pass this time? It’s been five and a half days and I only did it then for the first time. Pleeaase help, I’m soo freaked out!
September 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Rach,
I’m not surprised you didn’t pass your drug test, if all you did was drink a bunch of water without taking any steps to mask your dilution.
But actually, you don’t have any reason to be freaked out. If that was your very first time smoking pot EVER then you’re probably already clean. Go buy a home drug test and test yourself if you want to make sure. Then next time, don’t dilute and you’ll pass your test with no problem.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hi Dee,
My situation is a similar to Rach’s, I smoked pot for the first time EVER on Wednesday (two days ago) and have a drug test on Monday. My friend and I shared a bowl and a quarter of marijuana. what steps can I take this weekend to make sure that I will be completely clean? I am very short and skinny, not very much body fat…and I was also pretty drunk on the night I smoked pot – bad decision, I know. Just to make sure I pass the test, I want to get the urinalysis strip from a drug store – it’s too late to order more pro ones online, do you know if they work in terms of detecting marijuana?
Thank you so much and have a great weekend!
September 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Home drug tests are very reliable. Test yourself on Sunday, and I’m 99% sure that you’ll be clean by then, if that’s the first time you smoked.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I’ve smoked virtually everyday for the past year or two and now i’m about to start probation. i don’t want to quit smoking so based off a couple of sources i’ve found on the web, here’s my plan sound:
Within a week before drug testing, begin exercising taking as much cranberry supplements, Vitamin B2, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Glutamate, and creatine as possible. Stop exercising 2 days before the test, and cut back on fats and solid foods. Then the morning before the test, drink as much water as humanly possible in order to dilute.
So based off your expertise in the area, is it possible this would work?
The only problem I can see with this plan though is wouldn’t drinking so much water that morning also dilute all the vitamins and minerals im putting in my body to keep my urine legit?
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
i smoked last friday and saturday night. i hit a bowl just 2 times each day and was so stoned. i hadnt smoked for a month prior to that. i have 1% body fat and my metabolism is outa this world high. i have an instant result urine test on monday. it will b a total of 8 days since i smoked. am i clean?
October 16th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
This whole thing really pisses me off. I have a full time job, a great husband, OWN a home, never late on my mortgage EVER, we own 2 cars one a BMW, I am at work on time EVERDAY, I have called out sick 2 times in the last year and a half, probably 5 days in the last 3 years and yes I am a pot smoker! I smoke 1 bowl pack every night before bed to help me unwind and sleep.I had a job interview yesterday where I found out that there will be a pre employment drug test. So I didn’t smoke last night and figured I would have a good week or so before I even heard form them, wrong. I have a 2nd inerview on monday and I’m paranoid they may make me take the test that day. I believe they have in-house testers. Anyway, i’m venting because I am a hard worker and very smart and not a bad person and I know no matter how much water I drink I’m going to fail this test. I know it’s my own fauit, I should have stopped smoking when I knew about the interview but I didn’t think an admin postion would require a drug test. So yes, I have no one to blame but myself. This whole “war on drugs” fucking sucks!!!
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Rae, you rant on about what a good person you are. You must have the opinion that pot smokers are bums. Who cares what you have for a car. They don’t give a darn if you own a BMW. Can you tell?
November 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
popping 100 percent viatamin c pills,and 2 gallons of water a day until piss test should do the trick ?