5 Urine Drug Test Facts That Will Surprise You

By: Ashlee Arnold

According to a poll conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and done in collaboration with the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA), 57% of employers conduct drug tests on every single job candidate. Among this testing, the most common kind is the urine drug test.

If you run a business and you're considering asking job candidates or staff members to submit to an employer drug test, you're on the right track. Not only is urine testing quick and affordable, but there many different kinds of panels, meaning you have plenty of options when it comes to deciding exactly what kind of testing is best for you and your business.

Thinking of starting employment drug testing but not totally convinced yet? Here are five interesting facts you need to know.

5 Drug Testing Urine Facts You Need to Know

1. A Urine Drug Test Can Return Immediate Results

With instant drug tests, negative urine drug test results are received the same day. At US Drug Test Centers, you can get immediate results with the 6 panel drug test and 10 panel drug test, which test for substances including amphetamines, methamphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, and opiates.

Instant drug tests are a huge asset to employers because should you be concerned an employee has shown up to work under the influence, you can get answers now.

Getting instant urine drug testing is easy with US Drug Test Centers — we have it available in almost all of our 20,000+ locations across all 50 states.

2. The Urine Drug Test is Difficult to Cheat

Guilty parties are always looking for a way to cheat drug tests, but most of the methods you'll read about online are nothing but myths. In reality, it's very difficult, if at all possible, to fool drug tests. Even excessively chugging water — a common method for trying to trick urine drug tests – won't help an employee fly under the radar.

A person will drink a lot of water in an attempt to flush the substances from their system and provide a urine specimen that appears to be clean. However, this typically backfires when it comes to the urine drug test. That's because utilizing this practice usually ends up with the person producing a dilute urine sample, which means that the urine is too watered down for the test to provide conclusive results.

The individual isn’t necessarily off the hook, though. If a urine drug test comes back diluted, the next step will depend on the business's drug-free workplace policy. While some companies will accept a negative dilute, other will require a repeat test. If you don't yet have a drug-free workplace policy, call US Drug Test Centers for help.

Also, rest assured that no matter what, if a urine drug test comes back positive, this means that the person tested positive for some substance — period. While a negative dilute drug test is inconclusive, a positive test is not.

3. There Isn't Only One Urine Drug Test That Every Employer Uses

It's understandable if one would assume that there's one generic urine drug test that everyone uses. We know there is no one-size-fits-all approach, though; and because no two employers are the same, US Drug Test Centers offers a variety of urine drug tests.

We earlier mentioned the 6 panel drug test and 10 panel drug test. Additionally, we offer all the way up to our 16 panel drug test. These panels test for the most commonly abused substances (totaling in the hundreds) and make it easy on you, the employer, to maintain a drug-free workplace, run a productive business, and keep your staff members safe.

The panel you end up choosing ultimately comes down to how many substances you want to test for. Even if you don't see the drug you want to test for on our website, we can customize a unique panel specifically for your company. With our specialty lab, we can test for almost anything.

4. Urine Samples Can Go as Far Back as One Week

You urinate multiple times in any given day, so it makes sense to assume that drugs should work their way out of the human body as quickly as urine does. However, considering how long some substances stay in your body, a urine drug test will pick them up. That's because these tests can detect substance abuse as far back as a week ago.

It's a relief to employers because an employee who is high while on the job isn't the only concern. Even if they don't feel impaired, a person who did drugs the previous day might still have them in their system and might not be functioning at 100%.

It's crucial that an employer be able to know with certainty that their staff members are drug-free.

5. Drug Testing Might Reduce Substance Use Overall

While the research on how well drug testing works to deter someone from using drugs hasn't proven to be totally conclusive, some data is certainly in favor of it. Based on research, it appears as though employees will think twice about using drugs when they know that getting tested is a possibility.

For instance, according to a study published in Health Services Research, "Individuals whose employers perform drug tests are significantly less likely to report past month marijuana use&hellip" Overall drug use also decreases when the employer enforces strict penalties for drug use.

When a person knows their private life outside of the workplace can have a serious impact on their professional life, they become more mindful of their choices. 

There are so many reasons why you should be doing employee drug testing. Workplace drug use can lead to more absences, higher employee turnover, lost productivity, accidents, and even criminal activity on the job. It ends up costing employers billions of dollars a year.

Especially when one considers the recent changes in cannabis laws, understanding your rights and responsibilities as an employer is more important than ever. While many consider cannabis harmless, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when used frequently, marijuana can cause disorientation, anxiety, and even paranoia.

Now is the time to take action. Contact US Drug Test Centers today for help managing your random and scheduled employee drug testing, verifying all results, crafting a foolproof drug-free workplace policy, and overall, maintaining a safe and productive place of business. Order a test online today.