Drug Testing - The Definitive Guide
IF YOU FAIL
If you fail the test, there is really nothing you can do. You can get mad and rant and rave, but in the end it will do no good. You will be interviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MRO), who will ask you questions regarding any medical conditions, foods, etc.
There really is no legal reason to have marijuana in your system, so there is nothing you can say to the MRO to justify a positive drug test result. You are screwed. MRO's are impartial. An MRO cannot be an employee of the lab, have any monetary benefit from a lab (own stock or be a part owner). They are paid for their services from the employer and are not swayed by tears or long, drawn out excuses. I know of a laboratory who was put out of business simply by providing (recommending) an MRO to employers. By regulation, MRO’s must be totally independent of the laboratory. An MRO can be an employee of the company to which you are applying. Some very large corporations have a doctor on staff who also serves the MRO duties. That is perfectly legal.
A Medical Review Officer (MRO) will review the collection and laboratory procedures to ensure the collection and testing was done correctly, then they will analyze the results. It is a fact based job. If you are taking a prescription that is causing the positive result (some cancer meds can test positive for marijuana), the MRO will phone you’re your physician and/or pharmacy to determine if it is really you that the medication was prescribed to. They will also note the time of collection and ask you the time you last ingested the medication. If the expected quantity of drug in your urine doesn’t match the laboratory report, you are determined to be positive for an illegal substance.
If you fight a positive result, your lawyer "can subpoena the proficiency testing records of the laboratory for review". This is probably a huge waste of time and money. Most laboratories undergo proficiency testing regularly and the quality control measures are reviewed and updated as needed. Blind samples are sent to laboratories on a periodic basis. Both confirmed positives (bought from a supplier for just this purpose) and confirmed negative specimens are sent to laboratories. If one of these specimens are tested and found to be anything other than what they should be, the laboratory could lose its certification. Your energy would be better put towards finding other employment opportunities.
