USA is number one in something, and it ain't freedom.

[MumblesBadly]

MumblesBadly: Good info, but material correction: the 21% inaccurate result rate includes both false positives (bad for innocents) AND false negatives (good for the not-innocent).



I agree good for the not innocent, but for the sake of argument, the 21% false positive rating is what counts for people on probation as a positive result on any test can land you in jail. The false negative rating would have an affect on people who are in drug treatment programs.

Let me try again...

Thr info you provided mentions the percentage of times the test is not accurate, including when it falsely signals when drugs/their metabolytes are present (false positive) OR when it mistakenly doesn't show when they are actually present.

Without more info, we don't know what proportion of the time innacuracy is due to ONLY being a false positive. If it's a small portion of the time, say 10-25%, the false positive rate would be reasonable. But if the test's inaccuracy is due mostly to false positives, then that test is definitely bad/unreasonable.

[LarryLaffer]

it's 21% for each of them.


there's a 21% chance it could be a false positive and 21% chance it could be a false negative.

[MumblesBadly]

it's 21% for each of them.


there's a 21% chance it could be a false positive and 21% chance it could be a false negative.

I can see now that the blog article mentions this, but these comments by a sceptic greatly concern me about the objectivity of those reported results:

http://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stori...-false-results

And critics say Millennium – one of the largest drug screening companies in the nation – has produced a self-serving study designed to drum up more business for itself.

“It does not surprise me that Millennium would show a high rate of inconsistencies with the POC test,” said a source with broad experience in the drug testing industry. “Remember, their business is to sell confirmation testing, so they will skew the way they present data to try to influence the market to do more confirmation testing. In most cases, that’s how it works in any study conducted or funded by a device or pharmaceutical company.”

The source told Pain News Network the data in Millennium’s study was “skewed toward exaggeration” and questioned the need for further testing.

“In addiction centers, there is not really a large demand for confirmation testing. I understand Millennium wants to increase that business because that’s what they do. However, medical necessity does play into all laboratory testing. The great majority of the time, when a patient in a treatment center is confronted with the results of a POC test that shows a drug in their system that shouldn’t be there, they will confess to taking the drug. So, what would be the medical necessity of confirming that test?

“I believe many of the urine drug testing labs are promoting confirmation testing when it is not medically necessary.”

So, I tried to fund an another source for info on the likelihood of the quick POS/UDS tests indicating false positives. And what I found wasn't encouraging for your argument.


False-Positive Screen for Marijuana
Ask the Expert: May 2015
http://www.practicalpainmanagement.c...reen-marijuana

Q: Can you explain the reason for a false-positive urine drug screen for marijuana?

A: In 2013, an estimated 19.8 million Americans aged 12 years or older were current (past month) users of marijuana and 8.1 million were daily users.1 An analysis of 7.6 million urine drug screens performed in the U.S. workforce, indicated the positivity rate for marijuana was 1.7%.2 A positive urine drug screen (UDS) can have an impact on a person’s life, so it is important to ensure the result is accurate.

Comment: If these quick tests had a 21% false positive rate, we'd see a much higher rate of positives among this huge population of tests than only 1.7%.

Summary

When screening a person for possible marijuana use, it is important not to make assumptions from an initial result from a positive immunoassay test, and to confirm a positive result with GC-MS. If a person is taking efavirenz, you have limited evidence to suspect a false-positive result, whereas it is much less likely for NSAIDs, hemp food consumption, or passive marijuana inhalation to cause a false-positive result. It is important to take into consideration recent medication use before making a decision on how to act on a positive UDS for marijuana.

To be frank, I would be very surprised that the whole drug-testing regime has not already been rigorously challenged using the false result rates reported in the article you found if it could stand up to scrutiny in a court of law by other experts not affiliated with the company that produced that study. But perhaps I'm just not aware of such a game-changing lawsuit already underway.

[LegalizeMeth]

heres a good false positive story for you

in the midst of a custody battle I had to submit to a drug test, at a very important juncture. After having been sober for 6 months plus I proudly marched into the bathroom, peed in the cup, only to piss hot for.....opiates! In full fledged panic mode I started racking my brain on what I could have taken and how this is possible...nothing, started browsing google on my phone while my lawyer was telling me how fucked I was and then I saw it.....fucking poppyseeds! I had eaten an everything bagel loaded with poppies earlier in the day and yes that is enough to trigger those little shitty instant tests.

Anyway I immediately told my lawyer this and she was like ya right dude thats a myth, i was adamant so she said go to a lab right now pay to have a piss blood and hair test done (which I did). long story short, all 3 came back clean and that coupled with pulling the receipt for the bagels out of my recycling bin (lol) exonerated me. But reading online its amazing how many peoples lives have been ruined for this, especially people on probation that end up back in jail.

[MumblesBadly]

heres a good false positive story for you

in the midst of a custody battle I had to submit to a drug test, at a very important juncture. After having been sober for 6 months plus I proudly marched into the bathroom, peed in the cup, only to piss hot for.....opiates! In full fledged panic mode I started racking my brain on what I could have taken and how this is possible...nothing, started browsing google on my phone while my lawyer was telling me how fucked I was and then I saw it.....fucking poppyseeds! I had eaten an everything bagel loaded with poppies earlier in the day and yes that is enough to trigger those little shitty instant tests.

Anyway I immediately told my lawyer this and she was like ya right dude thats a myth, i was adamant so she said go to a lab right now pay to have a piss blood and hair test done (which I did). long story short, all 3 came back clean and that coupled with pulling the receipt for the bagels out of my recycling bin (lol) exonerated me. But reading online its amazing how many peoples lives have been ruined for this, especially people on probation that end up back in jail.

I'm curious when this happened. Because as early as the late 1990s, people who suffered damages because of actions in response to poppy seed-caused false positives were being awarded compensation in US civil suit cases.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/drugs/poppyseed.asp

[wrenchjockey]

RIP LarryLaffer, it was a good run.

[LarryLaffer]

BUMP

14 days to freedom.

[LarryLaffer]

bump

happy 4th.

i'm free to do whatever now. so in honor of this horrible waste of thread i am going to do marijuana and drink beers

[gauchojake]

ahhh...what could have been

[Indyrick]

[Daly]

[Daly]

[Hockey Guy]

Nothing wrong with killing people in their sleep especially if they're McDonald's.