What is the difference between Rapid (Instant) screens vs Laboratory testing?
Rapid screens (Instant) give immediate results but no level of use. Immediate results are often needed for immediate employment and to screen for drug use prior to child visitation. Positive (non-negative) results must be sent to the lab for confirmation to be legally defensible. Laboratory tests give levels of use – Positive results can be confirmed as legal or illegal drug with more sophisticated testing. Example: Several cold medicines will show as amphetamine – as do prescription inhalers. Legally defensible. Q: Can having sex with a drug user cause a person to come up positive on a urine drug test? This question has been posed many times but always with respect to cocaine use. Is it possible? Yes, but only in a very unlikely situation. A typical dose of cocaine is about 200 mg. Of that dose, most is eliminated in the urine as metabolites and only a small percentage is incorporated into bodily tissues and fluids. Although it is possible that cocaine might be detected in a drug user
