Can I Pass A Drug Test With A Prescription

I took a Hydrocodone pill about two weeks ago for back pain. If I have a prescription, can I still fail the hair folical test?

I took a Hydrocodone pill about two weeks ago for back pain. If I have a prescription, can I still fail the hair folical test?

As long as you have a prescription for it but you should stop taking them and get a note from your doctor that you are no longer prescribed them

If you took ONE HYDROCODONE - two weeks ago - and that was the ONLY ONE YOU TOOK for the last 6 months (or so), you're probably good. There are "thresholds" in the hair follicle tests. ONE PILL may not exceed that threshold. Regular (or semi-regular) use will.

I was taking hydrocodone for pain for over a year (car accident, neck injury). I QUIT when I began to (re)consider going out on the road (almost a year ago). It was legal, prescribed, taken as directed and DISQUALIFYING for passing a DOT Drug Screen.

I'd suspect (not accusing), that you've taken more than just one - over the period covered by hair testing. It's just the nature of pain and pain management. If that is the case - the likelihood of you testing positive goes WAY UP.

Remember that HAIR TESTS are PRE-EMPLOYMENT TEST - not DOT DRUG SCREENINGS. They will not "disqualify" you from driving, but a positive is cause for a company NOT TO HIRE YOU.

At that point - you might have some explaining to do. This would be in the form of a letter from the prescribing physician, documenting the condition , the treatment (including the prescribed meds), that you have completed treatment, are no longer prescribed the medication and are considered "discharged from treatment" for this condition.

The good news is that the test can't determine EXACTLY WHEN you took the meds - only that YOU DID in the time period covered by the test. The BAD NEWS is that the company may just decide that it's too much of a risk to take you on with a positive - and send you home- even with a doctors note. Not saying that this WILL HAPPEN - only that IT DOES.

OTOH - urine testing - while appearing "less specific", does narrow the time window down - so a positive there, determines "recent use" - though at 2 weeks - you would be clear.

It's a "coin toss" how a company will deal with this. If you had a recent car accident, went to the emergency room, was treated post-accident, etc. - and YOU CAN DOCUMENT THIS IN DETAIL - they may let it slide.

Rick

Thank you for your detailed response. I appreciate your suspicion because I would think the same but I really only took one about three weeks ago. I would have taken more but it did dawn on me the next day that I may have made a mistake and I guess I did. Nevertheless, I don't want to take a chance and fail the pre-eemployment screening because I don't want to have to claim that on other employment applications. I'll explore other options.