Drug Testing Standards - Drugs Tested and Sensitivities

Drug testing standards are regulated by a number of guidelines. What drug is being tested for varies greatly based on testing company, expense, expectations, federal & provincial requirements, etc. Following is a description of what to expect from the standard tests.

The NIDA 5

Federal government guidelines (by NIDA -The National Institute on Drug Abuse and SAMHSA -The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) require that companies which use commercial class drivers licenses for employees must have a testing system in place. Among other things, this required testing program must test for 5 specific categories of drugs (sometimes referred to as the "NIDA 5"). Because of this federal requirement, most drug testing companies offer a basic drug test which checks for drugs in these 5 common categories.

1. Amphetamines (amphetamines, methamphetamines, speed)
2. Cannabinoids (marijuana, hash)
3. Cocaine (cocaine, crack, benzoylecognine)
4. Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
5. Phencyclidine (PCP)

Drug Test Sensitivity Standards

SUBSTANCE	IMMUNOASSAY Qualitative	GC / MS Quantitative
Marijuana	50 ng/ml	15 ng/ml
Cocaine	300 ng/ml	150 ng/ml
Opiates	300 ng/ml	300 ng/ml
Amphetamines	1000 ng/ml	500 ng/ml
PCP	25 ng/ml	25 ng/ml

more info on NIDA -5

Expanded Tests

These are some other common drugs that companies require testing for:

1. Barbituates (Phenobarbital, Secobarbitol, Butabital)
2. Hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin)
3. Methaqualone (Qualuudes)
4. Benzodiazepines (Valium, Librium, Serax, Rohypnol)
5. Methadone
6. Propoxyphene (Darvon compounds)
7. Ethanol (Alcohol)
8. MDMA (Ecstasy)

Additional Test Substances

In addition, there are a few other substances which it is possible - but quite unusual to test for:

1. LSD
2. Hallucinogens (Psilocybin, Mescaline, MDMA, MDA, MDE)
3. Inhalents (Toluene, Xylene, Benzene)