WORKING GROUP FINDS DRUG TESTS UNRELIABLE

No Evidence To Support Benefits Of Drug Testing

A working group set up by Labquality, an independent quality control
organisation for clinical laboratories, has found that work place drug
tests are very unreliable, yielding many false positive results. According
to the working group, the results of tests need to be verified, lest a
person getting a positive result be falsely labelled a drug abuser.

The working group presented a set of recommendations for how drug tests
should be conducted, pointing out that if they are not done right, the
tests are useless. According to the chairman of the working group, Dr. Timo
Seppala, consideration should be given to the initiation of drug tests,
because there is no scientific evidence that drug testing offers any real
benefits.

A working group set up by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is
looking into the question of drug tests at workplaces and schools. A report
from that working group is expected at the end of the year. The
recommendation issued by Labquality is aimed at helping those who conduct
drug tests to make sure that the tests are as reliable as possible.

Drug screenings usually involve tests for specific drugs, and do not reveal
the use of drugs not screened for. For instance, tests for amphetamines
might easily fail to reveal any of more than ten amphetamine derivatives,
including MDMA, or ecstasy.

Tests for opiates - mainly heroin - recognise only heroin, morphine, and
codeine. They do not reveal the use of synthetic opiates, such as
Subutex(R) (buprenorphine), which is used as a treatment for heroin
addiction, but which abusers sometimes inject for a high.

Some tests give false positive results by reacting to certain legitimate
medicines. Seppala notes that taking certain stomach medicines and cough
syrups, or even eating buns with poppy seeds might cause a person to test
positive for heroin.

All tests in use have a potential for both false positive and false
negative results.

Drug users already know how to cheat drug tests, and Timo Seppala suspects
that false negatives may prove an even bigger problem than false positives.

However, the false positives are by no means an insignificant group.

"People should not draw too many conclusions on the basis of a single
test", Seppala emphasises. However, not all companies who test their new
employees for drugs bother to verify initial positive results. Many simply
conclude that a person testing positive for a drug in a first test is not
suitable for the job.