Negative-Dilute

We have received a negative-dilute drug test result for__________________. We recommend that he/she is retested immediately.  Encourage them to not drink too much water prior to giving a sample.  Due to the high volume of repeat negative-dilute results we encourage our clients to retest with a hair test.  This will rule out chronic users and we find that there is a positive rate of 18%+ on hair follow-up tests after a negative-dilute urine test.

What does this mean, and what should you do?

Due to the high rate of dilute drug tests being a means to ‘cleaning out’ one’s system of any drugs an employee may have taken, we recommend adding the the following text to your workplace drug policy.

DILUTE SPECIMEN

If the MRO informs the Company that a negative test was dilute, the Company may take the following action depending on Company policy and/or guidance provided by the MRO:

1. If the MRO directs that a recollection take place (i.e., because the creatinine concentration of the specimen was equal to or greater than 2 mg/dL, but less than or equal to 5 mg/dL), the Company will do so immediately. Failure of the employee or applicant to submit for this recollection is classified as a refusal to test.
2. Otherwise (i.e., if the creatinine the concentration of the negative dilute specimen is greater than 5 mg/dL), the Company will for existing employees:
1. Require the employee for a retest upon immediate notification and be escorted by a supervisor.
3. Regarding a negative dilute (greater than 5 mg/dL on an applicant), the Company will:
   1. Require the applicant to retest within 24 hours and provide instructions to applicant on how to avoid a dilute specimen.

NOTE: The Company will treat all employees the same for this purpose. The Company may, however, establish different policies for different types of tests (e.g., conduct retests in pre-employment situations, but not in random test situations). The Company will inform its employees in advance of its decisions on these matters.

When a retest is required after a negative dilute specimen, the employee or applicant will be given the minimum possible advance notice that he or she must go to the collection site. Instructions will be provided on how to avoid dilute specimen. The results of the retest will be considered the final result, not the result from the first test.

If the employee declines to take a retest required because of a dilute specimen, the action will be considered a refusal to be tested and will be treated the same as a confirmed and verified positive result. The offer of employment will be rescinded if an applicant refuses to take the retest because of it dilute specimen.

What is a non-contact positive? You may have seen this result on a recent drug test and had questions. It sounds a bit cryptic, but it’s actually very simple.

When a drug test is positive, meaning a drug of abuse was detected, the result goes to our Medical Review Officer (MRO). The MRO is a doctor with special training. Part of the MRO’s job is to validate any positive drug tests.

Generally this means contacting the donor to ask for explanation. If the donor can provide a valid prescription (which the MRO verifies with the pharmacy) or other reason a drug test result may be positive, then the MRO may report a negative result.

If the MRO is not able to contact the donor within a specific amount of time, then the result is reported as a Non-Contact Positive. The only reason for a WSS Non-Contact Positive is that the donor does not answer the phone or call back. We will work with you, the employer, to ensure that every attempt to contact the donor is made, so there's no issues such as illegible forms or invalid phone numbers creating Non-Contact Positive results.

What we see most often is that the donor knows she failed the test and avoids the call.

Other drug testing companies may report a non-contact positive for issues with the form. Some possible reasons the MRO may not be able to contact the donor include poor legibility on the Custody and Control Form. That is, if a paper CCF was used for collection and the MRO cannot accurately read the donor’s phone number, then the donor cannot be contacted. 

In any case, a result must be reported, and if no donor contact is made, then it’s reported as a Non-Contact Positive.

We have six MROs on staff, and 16 MRO assistants. We'll help walk you through the process, no matter what your results. If you have more questions on your drug testing results, or how to more effectively screen your employees, drop us an email.  

A: Our timeline works like this:

1. Three business days before the random testing event we ask for the lists of employees & contractors –This ensures that we have all the termed and newly hired employees on the list.
2. We typically don’t send the list to our main contact until the day before – We consider you the main contact.

Unless you inform us otherwise: We will send you the list for all locations and you will distribute them.  The collector will bring the list with, as well.

Q: How many techs will you be sending out?

A: We typically send one collector per 15 people being tested. We will establish this protocol with our first run. Rather then going to each location at the same time, we might test at a different location once a month or so.  I will go over this with you when we review the first lists.

Q: What % of employees at each location will be tested

A: They random generator will choose how many people are tested – If we set-up the random to choose 25% annually, it will pull the list for us each time, based on the number of people on the list.  It will be about 7 to 8%.

• When we notify employees, where will they wait to be tested. (We do not want them to be called to the office one at a time, because they will realize what is going on after the first person is tested.)

This will be your team's responsibility.  We request that everyone being tested is brought to one room and not released for any reason (including a dying grandmother, escaped dog, flat tire, etc.)

The Company representative (or you) will be staying with them.  We will need help monitoring water consumption, ensuring they don’t leave the room, etc.

Q: What information do I need to provide Workplace Safety Screenings?

A: We will need the following in an excel spreadsheet:

(1) Full name (first middle last)
(2) SSN
(3) location, and
(4) shift. 

We will run a separate list for each location. We will also run the lists by shift if there is not hours of overlap.

Q: Where will we be sending updates such as terminations or new hires for the report to be updated?

A: We will simply get a new complete list every quarter.  This takes updating the list out of the equation, which is much easier and more accurate.

What exactly is CBD oil, what is the legality of it, and how does the flood of CBD oil in Texas affect businesses?

What is CBD Oil?

CBD oil, a product made from the non-THC elements of the cannabis plant, has seen a steep incline in sales since 2017. In the past two years, it has gone from a product sold in head shops and alternative medicine clinics to a product so ubiquitous that you can hardly drive down the road without seeing a CBD oil sign. So far the industry is on track to hit $591 million in 2018, and thanks to a number of factors — including, surprisingly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — that could increase 40 times in the next four years. Every major news media has published about it, from US News to Rolling Stone.

 “What we started tracking this year was an explosion — face mask, bug bites, skin care, topicals,” says Bethany Gomez, director of research for the Brightfield Group, who shared the analysis exclusively with Rolling Stone. “It’s being used for everything you can think of — sports, triathlons. People want to buy it for their grandma, for arthritis. Women get it for PMS and endometriosis — common things that people have been using over the counter medications.”

What is the legality of CBD Oil in Texas?

The number one thing to keep in mind is that CBD oil is not federally regulated (unless prescribed), which equates to buyers beware.  CBD oil with any trace of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), is currently considered a felony for possession of a controlled substance in Texas.  The key is that the CBD oil must contain less than .3% THC to be legal and be negative on a drug test.

The sellers don't always know the THC content when the product come from the laboratory. Top-quality sellers will have new lots tested by a third-party lab to ensure it has less than .3% THC.

According to WebMD, 1 in 5 bottles of CBD oil came back THC positive, which means it will absolutely show up on a drug test. Conversely, 43 percent contain too little CBD to be effective. The lack of regulation makes every bottle a surprise. Some businesses that use CBD oil have even gone so far as testing each batch at an independent lab to verify the potency of each ingredient.

To acquire legitimate, medically approved CBD oil, and a prescription for it, there are only three dispensaries and 18 approved physicians in the state of Texas (in 2018). There is a very long process to getting to a doctor that will prescribe CBD Oil.

To qualify for the medicine, Texans must have tried two FDA-approved drugs and found them to be ineffective. The patients also must be permanent residents of Texas and get approval from two of the 18 doctors listed on the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas.

Under the law, a physician can only sign up for the state registry if, among several other requirements, the doctor has dedicated a significant portion of his or her clinical practice to the evaluation and treatment of epilepsy and is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in either epilepsy or neurology.

How does CBD oil affect your business?

Most likely, your employees are using non-prescriptive CBD oil. All CBD oil likely has THC in it, even by prescription, but those without FDA approval are not required to report the levels of THC vs. CBD. If an employee has been exposed to any THC, he or she will test positive.

If you're drug testing, let your employees know the facts about CBD oil before they take a positive drug test. More than one MRO has reported back conversations about CBD oil positives.

CBD oil is the new thing, but consumers need to be aware of three things: the medically certified uses, the legality of it, and the likelihood that it will show up on a drug test.