Questions about Drug Testing & False Positives

What are False Positives?

A false positive is when a substance tests positive for another compound. Ingestion of poppy seeds for example can indicate a positive result for opiates. GC/MS can distinguish the difference between poppy seeds and opiates.

Common False Positive Substances:

Amphetamines

Ephedrine or Pseudo ephedrine and Ephedrine-based compounds. Typical household remedies that contain these compounds are Sudafed, Nyquil, Contac, Mini-thins, Ephedra, Ephedrine, Ma Huang, and Tylenol Sinus.

Barbiturates

Dilantin, Fiorinal, Phenobarbital and Fioricet. Fiorinal and derivatives are often prescribed for migraines and chronic tension headaches.

Benzodiazepines

Valium, prescription sleeping pills, diazepam (generic name for valium) and many related anti-anxiety pills will test positive for Benzodiazepines. It should be noted that taking prescription drugs without a prescription is illegal and in most instances will result in failure of the drug test.

Cocaine

Amoxicillin can create false positives for cocaine use. For probation drug tests, this prescription antibiotic should be avoided.

Marijuana

OTC remedies like Advil, Nuprin and Pamprin that contain Ibuprofen. Prescription drugs like Lodine, Motrin and Telectin.

Opiates

Tylenol with codeine, Ampicin, Emprin and prescriptions such as Percodan, Percocet, Wygesic, Percovil and the aforementioned poppy seeds.

Does Goldenseal work?

Goldenseal does nothing to remove marijuana from the body. People that used Goldenseal and passed the drug test passed because of the extraordinary amount of water that is consumed with Goldenseal. Excessive fluid intake can result in the reduction of creatinine levels in the urine and result in the sample being considered too dilute.

Are instant drug tests easier to beat?

The instant tests aren’t backed up by GC/MS. A false positive will result in failure of the test.