Drug Test News

True Test For Ecstacy

by Lee Condon, printed in The Advocate, Oct 10, 2000

Ecstasy users who happen to be in the job market have new reason to beware. A new hair drug test being used by many companies in preemployment screenings can detect the popular party drug. It also detects marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and PCP in hair samples up to 90 days after usage, according to Psychemedics Corp., which is marketing the test.

Psychemedics officials say the company has 1,700 corporate clients, including many in the Fortune 500. In addition, the company does drug testing for four of the country's largest police departments and five Federal Reserve banks.

In August company officials announced they had seen a surprisingly high level of positive tests for ecstasy in the first five weeks of screening. The addition of testing for ecstasy, a methamphetamine, led in fact to a doubling of positive results for all methamphetamines. California had the highest number of positive tests, followed closely by Nevada and Florida. Copyright 2000, Liberation Publications, Inc.