Drug testing is a common pre-employment requirement across the country, with many states making it mandatory for a wide variety of jobs—both professional and blue-collar. Since their inception during the Reagan administration, workplace drug tests have numbered in the tens of millions.
The rationale behind this is that a drug-free work environment helps ensure workplace safety, fosters productivity and job retention, and protects the company from lawsuits that may stem from an employee’s dangerous or negligent actions. Drug testing ultimately reduces costs: employers spend approximately $740 billion annually due to absenteeism, lost productivity, and increased healthcare costs associated with their employees’ drug use.
Drug testing may also be a requirement for employees who are returning to work after a period of absence or injury. A return-to-work certification is highly contingent upon an employee’s conditions to pass the drug test. Likewise, for many employers, a job offer is only considered after having ascertained that a job applicant is drug-free.
Let’s delve deeper into drug testing—particularly which specific drugs are commonly tested for and what the results signify—and find out where to get high-quality drug testing in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Which Specific Drugs Are Tested For?
There are many ways to test an employee with a wide range of illegal substances. Tests are done by obtaining hair, blood, saliva, or urine specimens.
Drugs tests look for the presence of illegal substances, such as the following:
- Hallucinogens, such as LSD
- Marijuana
- Methamphetamine
- Opiates (heroin, codeine, fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, etc.)
- Steroids
What Do My Test Results Mean?
Drug and alcohol test results fall into three categories:
- Positive– this signifies that a specific concentration of a prescription or illegal drug substance was detected.
With a positive test result, you may wish to pursue a retake test, albeit that won’t guarantee that your employer will consider you for the job. Positive test results aren’t typically forwarded to employers right away, until after confirmation of the presence of the substance/s in question is performed—using an instrument that separates chemical mixtures (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry).
If a prescription drug shows up on your drug test result, be sure to have documentation from your provider to explain why you need this medication.
- Negative– this means that the concentration detected was below a specific cut-off level
- Inconclusive/invalid– this means that the test detected no amount of the drugs tested for. With an inconclusive result, your employer may choose to have you retake a drug test.
Drug Testing in Grand Junction, CO
At WorkPartners Occupational Health, it is our goal to deliver discreet drug testing with highly accurate results. As such, we offer convenient, computerized drug testing services using the eScreen® platform. This sophisticated drug screening technology allows us to efficiently process specimen collection for DOT physicals and pre-employment drug tests and yield rapid results. If you’re an employer, the eScreen® platform ultimately enables you to quickly make hiring decisions and offers to your first-choice job applicants.
For routine pre-employment or DOT-required drug tests, we are open Monday through Friday. For more information, phone us at (970) 241-5585, or use our online appointment request form.
