Question
Nurse Red:
I'm planning to go to the Woodstock 99 concert up in NY, and I anticipate there being people smoking pot. It's a three day concert, but is outdoors. Would being around people smoking pot make me test positive in a drug test? Or can they tell it was just from breathing second-hand smoke?
I thought I'd get your opinion before I pay the $150 for a ticket. Thanks.
Answer
Dan,
You will hear a lot of people claim that this is the cause of a positive drug test, but it just isn't true. Here's why.
Research by the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that in order to test positive from second hand marijuana smoke AT THE CUT-OFF LEVELS MANDATED BY THE DOT, you would have to have been in a room about the size of a closet with approx. 14 joints being smoked.
Now, I am not saying that you are not inhaling second hand smoke. But the DOT tests only test down to a specified level. Below that level the test will report as negative.
We have all heard about the Olympic athlete who tested positive and claimed second hand smoke inhalation and won his case. What they didn't tell you is that there is no cut-off level in Olympic testing. Meaning they test down to the Nth degree. Any level of drug in the system will come up positive. In his case the actual level was so low that it COULD have been from second hand smoke, therefore, he won his case.
The cut-off levels in DOT testing are actually safe-guards built in to the system to protect you from just this sort of thing.
So, get your ticket and enjoy!
P.S. Send me a T-shirt from Woodstock,OK?
Keeping you safe, healthy, and on the road.
Nurse RedVisit us at
Answer
Sorry Nurse Red....forgot I asked a question. Anyway thanks for the reply. I'm still not sure if I will be going now, cause of some truck repairs, but if I do I'll get ya a t-shirt.