quick question about drug testing

[muz379]

Hi there as per my previous thread just been offered job as conductor with northern in manchester got my medical on thursday

Basically currently in a pretty rubbish domestic situation and one of the people I live with smokes weed all the time he claims it helps him sleep and aleviates pain he has idk why his girlfriend smokes it when she is here but hey that's none of my business I dont get along with him that much but until I can afford otherwise I have to live with him a lot of other neighbors round where I live smoke it as well its just a doss around area clearly

Ive never touched the stuff , I rarely even drink tbh dont see the point . Prior to becoming interested in working on the railways I was at law school and wanted to be a practicing lawyer also at one point wanted to join the police so getting a conviction/record of any type for possession or anything to do with drugs would not bode well with either of them career choices

After first moving in and discovering his habit I made him smoke it in his bedroom or outside only cos I dont want to have his second hand smoke cigarettes or weed smoke all over the rest of the house but understandably the smoke still does end up drifting through the house , Im worried now with having to submit for a drug test that this second hand smoking of weed is going to show up on my drug test and im going to get denied the job at northern .

Ive bought and used some instant urine tests for weed and used one about a week ago when I got my initial letter offering me the job and one earlier today and both times they have come back negative but im aware that northern will probably use a lab based method of analysis


Has anyone any advice or been in a similar situation cos im dreading failing the drug test


before anyone says report it to police/landlord move out Ive pursued all avenues with our landlord who really isnt that interested , and I dont want the police sniffing round every 5 minutes / I dont want any more argument with him if I can avoid it , And until I pass my training with northern I wont be able to afford to move out , but as soon as I can I will be long gone from here .

 

[Cherry_Picker]

This one is in the hands of the gods by the sound of things. I'd spend as little time as possible in the company of Mr Smokehound though, weed can be detected in urine tests for weeks after it is smoked if you use it regularly, I'm not sure how that translates to passive smoking and I'm not sure about the differences between the kit that the railway use to test for drugs compared to the stuff that is commercially available. I would suggest moving out of the house if you get offered the job though, or even if you are unsuccessful but serious about perusing a career on the railway.

 

[Rich McLean]

Hi there as per my previous thread just been offered job as conductor with northern in manchester got my medical on thursday

Basically currently in a pretty rubbish domestic situation and one of the people I live with smokes weed all the time he claims it helps him sleep and aleviates pain he has idk why his girlfriend smokes it when she is here but hey that's none of my business I dont get along with him that much but until I can afford otherwise I have to live with him a lot of other neighbors round where I live smoke it as well its just a doss around area clearly

Ive never touched the stuff , I rarely even drink tbh dont see the point . Prior to becoming interested in working on the railways I was at law school and wanted to be a practicing lawyer also at one point wanted to join the police so getting a conviction/record of any type for possession or anything to do with drugs would not bode well with either of them career choices

After first moving in and discovering his habit I made him smoke it in his bedroom or outside only cos I dont want to have his second hand smoke cigarettes or weed smoke all over the rest of the house but understandably the smoke still does end up drifting through the house , Im worried now with having to submit for a drug test that this second hand smoking of weed is going to show up on my drug test and im going to get denied the job at northern .

Ive bought and used some instant urine tests for weed and used one about a week ago when I got my initial letter offering me the job and one earlier today and both times they have come back negative but im aware that northern will probably use a lab based method of analysis


Has anyone any advice or been in a similar situation cos im dreading failing the drug test


before anyone says report it to police/landlord move out Ive pursued all avenues with our landlord who really isnt that interested , and I dont want the police sniffing round every 5 minutes / I dont want any more argument with him if I can avoid it , And until I pass my training with northern I wont be able to afford to move out , but as soon as I can I will be long gone from here .

As long as your not in the same room breathing it in every day, you should be fine. I have been around weed smokers (not that often, not at all now) while serving in the RAF and have never failed a drugs test.

But as above, I would seriously consider moving out.

 

[Clip]

Ill echo what Cherry picker has written above as I have no idea about how much you ingest through your breathing his second hand smoke as I wouldve thought he wouldve inhaled most of the toxins first off and also whether he smokes a shedload or one or two a day.

It may be prudent to actually speak to a healthcare provider about this - but obviously not one you are going with to try and find out.

Its a coin toss really.

 

[tony_mac]

Basically, no, you aren't going to get enough in your system to fail a test.

http://www.norchemlab.com/client-resources/resource-center/drug-testing-info/passive-inhalation-of-marijuana-smoke-and-urine-drug-test-results/

The following studies published in scientific journals show no instances where passive inhalation of marijuana smoke, even under extreme conditions, caused urine specimens of non-marijuana users to test positive for THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) using the screening and confirmation cutoff levels currently mandated by SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).

 

[Andrew32]

I'd echo all of the above but most of all, don't get yourself worked up about the medical and make yourself poorly.

Best of luck buddy

 

[muz379]

If I get this job as soon as I have saved up a few months wage for a deposit I am out of here and living on my own wont look back a single minute , a hell of a lot easier that way no one elses bad choices to live with .

I dont spend any of the day in the house , I'm either working reasonably long hours , or out doing something or other , its very rare that I will be sat around the house all day and he works as well so the only exposure I get to it is in the evenings when he is home and he usually smokes a couple of spliffs a night , if his gf is round it will be 3 or 4 ,
I dont get that much exposure to it because I keep my windows in my room open as much as practically possible , and hes only doing it in his room with the door shut so the only time I really get exposure is when I go into the hallway or bathroom area of the house


I mentioned it to my Dr not that long ago when I was there for something un related and he said it is possible second hand smoking could trigger a positive result on a drug test but you would have to be sat practically all day every day in the same room as he smokes spliff after spliff so from what I said to him he said it is unlikely to trigger a positive , He also said the lab test would be likely to have a threshold before which it would report a positive so I could have some thc in my system from the second hand smoke but not actually test positive

,the testing kits I have got are ones that are provided to the NHS as well but when I asked the Dr if they could do a lab analysis drug test they wouldnt do it on the NHS unless it was for a specific reason like I was on probation or something so I wont know until I take this test .
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
forgot to mention another thing the Dr said was that some labs use instant tests kind of like the one ive got already first and only carry out further analysis if that shows a positive result to establish a precise level . I dont know if anybody knows this to be true about the way the medical provider carry out drug tests on behalf of the toc

 

[Sanatogen]

Afaik the drug test will be the same as the one you have at home, GC/MS testing is very expensive so is usually only used to confirm results.

 

[MrsSundayMorn]

Best of luck with your medical tomorrow. From people's response on here you should be fine!

 

[fowler9]

Really don't worry mate. If you haven't deliberately consumed it you will only have tiny trace amounts on you. They know what they are looking for and giving off traces as if you have been sat on a dodgy bus on the top deck isn't what they are looking for.

 

[ukcinc]

Dont know how true this is but our drug testing has this saying..you would have to be i a mini with full to max of people somking weed for 48hrs no stop..in order for it to be picked up on the test...( thats if your the only one not smoking the stuff). Dont know how true that is...but my the sounds of it your fine.

 

[muz379]

well its done now , just have to wait 5 working days for the results form the lab and see what happen

 

[Bodiddly]

Go and have a toke and calm down!
But seriously, this same problem nearly had me having a nervous breakdown a few years back. Whilst working for NR, I was called in for a random drug screening. The problem was, that previous weekend I had shared a minibus full of smokers all the way from Glasgow to Manchester and back and never thought anything of it at the time. When my manager came through on the Tuesday to tell me I was going for screening on the Thursday, I nearly died from fright. Needless to say I was fine, but it certainly opens your eyes to being in situations you can't control. Now if I go into a house and I smell weed, I make an excuse and leave. Not worth losing a good job and salary for. I'm sure you will get out the house if you start earning enough for a gaff of your own. Good luck mate, let us all know how you get on.

 

[sarahj]

Try not to fret. I'm sure it will be fine.

I'll also tell you a little story. A few years back I went on a camping holiday to amsterdam with some friends. They like to smoke dope. During the week they would all go into the centre and partake, coming back late at night. Meanwhile I used my FIP card and travelled around, even went to Cologne for the day. On the drive home I was telling them about my travels. They sat and argued about the fact that in the week they had done nothing and been knowhere, each one blaming the other. I used to go and visit these friends a lot, but when i got my railway job, I stopped going round. One understood why, the others just thought i was being unsociable.