Home-Use Tests - Drugs of Abuse (Two-Step Test)
What does this test do?
This is a two-step test that shows if one or more drugs of abuse are present in urine. Step 1 - do a quick home test. Step 2 – if you get a presumptive positive (non-negative) test that suggests that one or more drugs may be present, send the sample to a laboratory for additional testing. The kit should have the sample container, the mailing materials and instructions for mailing the sample to the laboratory. The kit will have a toll-free customer service number if you have questions about the test. There are many different tests on the market. You must buy a test that checks for the drug or drugs you are looking for.
How do I know that FDA has cleared the test for marketing?
You can find information about each home drug test that FDA has cleared by searching FDA’s database of In Vitro Devices (IVDs).
To use this database,
- Enter a search term (test name, manufacturer name, test type) in the blank space.
- For example if you select test type, enter the name of the drug you are testing (e.g. amphetamines, or oxycodone, or methadone). If the drug test contains more than one drug, your search will pull up all drugs for the test kit you purchased.
- Click on “Search”
- Review the tests that match your search term
- Select any tests for additional information such as a summary of FDA’s review of the product
- There is a “help” link with questions about searching this database available.
What are drugs of abuse?
Drugs of abuse can be illegal drugs (e.g. marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methadone (fizzies), or PCP (angel dust)) or prescribed medications that are abused (e.g., benzodiazepines, barbiturates or painkillers such as oxycodone or codeine).
What does the home drug test tell you??
This type of test can tell you whether or not a particular drug or drugs are in the urine, but not how much drug is present.
Why should you do this test?
You should use this test when you think someone you care about might be abusing drugs.
How reliable are these types of tests?
Home drug tests are fairly sensitive to the presence of drugs in the urine. This means that if drugs are present, you will usually get a presumptive positive (non-negative) test result. If this happens, you should send the urine sample to the laboratory for a second, more reliable test.
It is very important to send the urine sample to the laboratory, because home tests can give positive results when no drugs are present. Some tests are wrong more than 50% of the time because certain foods, food supplements, beverages, diet pills, or over-the-counter medicines can cause a reaction with the tests.
Laboratories use a more reliable test to show whether or not your sample contains drugs of abuse.
Note that all amphetamine results should be considered carefully, even those from the laboratory. Some over-the-counter medications contain amphetamines that cannot be distinguished from illegally-abused amphetamines.
Many things can affect the test, including (but not limited to):
- the way you did the test
- the way you stored the test or urine
- whether the urine was tampered with before you did the test
- what the person ate or drank before taking the test
- prescription or over-the-counter drugs the person may have taken before the test.
Does a positive (non-negative) test mean that you found drugs of abuse?
No. Take no action until you get the laboratory's result. Remember that many factors may cause a false positive result in the home test.
If the test results are negative, can you be sure that the person you tested did not take drugs?
No. There are several factors that can make the test results negative even though the person is using drugs.
- You may have tested for drugs that are not present in the urine.
- You may have gotten the urine too soon after drugs were taken or too late after they left the body.
- The urine sample may have been tampered with.
- The chemicals in the test may have gone bad.
- The test may have been stored improperly.
If you get a negative test result, but still suspect that someone is abusing drugs, you can test at a later time. Also, consider using a test that looks for other types of drugs. Talk to your doctor if you need help deciding what actions to take next.
How soon after a person takes drugs, will they show up in a drug test? And how long after a person takes drugs, will they continue to show up in a drug test?
The drug clearance rate tells how soon a person will have a positive test after taking a particular drug. It also tells how long the person will continue to test positive after the last time he or she took the drug. Clearance rates for common drugs of abuse are given below. These are guidelines and the times can vary depending on how long the person has been taking the drug, the amount of drug they took, or their metabolism.
| Drug |
How soon after taking drug will there be a positive drug test? |
How long after taking drug will there continue to be a positive drug
test? |
| Marijuana/Pot |
1-3 hours |
1-7 days |
| Crack (Cocaine) |
2-6 hours |
2-3 days |
| Heroin (Opiates) |
2-6 hours |
1-3 days |
Speed/Uppers
(Amphetamine, methamphetamine)
|
4-6 hours |
2-3 days |
| Angel Dust/PCP |
4-6 hours |
7-14 days |
How do you do the two-step test?
Step 1 – Check the expiration date of the home test. Do not use the home test if it has expired. Carefully read the instructions before starting the test. Collect the urine sample and follow the directions exactly on how to perform the test and how to read the results of the test. The test cards, cassettes or strips contain chemicals that react with the drug and show some visible result such as a color change. Often a visible change such as the presence of a line for the test may mean the drug of abuse is not present.
Step 2 – if you get a presumptive positive (non-negative) test that suggests that one or more drugs may be present, send the sample to a laboratory for additional testing. The kit should have the sample container, the mailing materials and instructions for mailing the sample to the laboratory.
Where can you get more information about drug abuse and drugs of abuse testing?
Back to Consumer Information on Home-Use
Tests
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