Drug Tests are commonly taken out in places of employment that require their employees to be 100% sober to safely carry out their duties. So often, employers such as construction companies, airlines and medical professionals seek the right to randomly test their employees to reduce any incidence of drug and alcohol impairment in compliance with OH&S policies.
Taking drugs is a personal choice, and unfortunately is the culprit for many workplace incidents. It’s important to understand just how long drugs stay in your system and can impair your ability to work effectively. While it is not recommended in any case to take drugs whatsoever, people still do.
Use this chart from Australian Drug Testing Kit providers OzDrugTests to determine how long each type of common drug stays in the system.
The refusal of an employee to undergo drug or alcohol testing where the contract of employment refers to the employer’s company policy which expressly requires an employee to comply with the policy could be deemed by the Fair Work Commission to have refused to obey a lawful and reasonable direction by the employer and may be grounds for a valid reason for dismissal.
Most drugs will generally appear in your urine or saliva within 2 – 8 hours after use. With blood drug tests the detection is almost immediate. Drugs can be detected in the hair on your head about 5 – 7 days after use. Detection in your body hair take as bit longer to show up as body hair generally grows slower.
| DSI Starts Hours |
UDT Urine Days |
HDT Hair Days |
SDT Saliva Days |
BDT Blood Days |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amphetamines | 1 – 4 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – MDA | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Ephedrine / Pseudoephedrine | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| Barbiturates | |||||
| – Intermediate Acting – Butalbital | 2 – 7 | 7 | 90 | 3 | 3 |
| – Intermediate Acting – Amobarbital | 2 – 7 | 7 | 90 | 3 | 3 |
| – Short Acting – Pentobarbital | 2 – 7 | 8 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Short Acting – Secobarbital | 2 – 7 | 8 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| Buprenorphine | 3 – 8 | 7 | 90 | 3 | |
| – Buprenex | 2 – 4 | 7 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Norspan | 3 – 8 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Suboxone | 2 – 4 | 7 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| Benzodiazepine | |||||
| – Long Acting – Valium | 2 – 7 | 42 | 90 | 3 | 2 |
| – Intermediate – lprazolam / Xanax | 2 – 6 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Intermediate – Lorazepam Ativan | 2 – 7 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Intermediate – Oxazepam | 3 – 8 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Intermediate – Chlordiazepoxide | 2 – 6 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Intermediate – Clonazepam | 2 – 7 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Intermediate – Flunitrazepam | 3 – 8 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Short Acting – Triazolam | 2 – 6 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Short Acting – Flurazepam | 2 – 7 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| Cocaine – Crack | 1 – 7 | 2 | 90 | 3 | 3 |
| Codeine | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 3 |
| Ecstasy | 2 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| Heroin | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Hydrocodone | |||||
| – Vicodin | 2 – 6 | 6 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Norco | 2 – 6 | 6 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Lortab | 2 – 6 | 6 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Lorcet | 2 – 7 | 6 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| Ketamine | 1 – 4 | 7 | 90 | 7 | Unknown |
| LSD | 2 – 6 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 3 |
| Marijuana | |||||
| – Single Use | 1 – 4 | 3 | 90 | 2 | 1 |
| – Casual (1– 3 Times Per Week) | 0 | 14 | 90 | 2 | 1 |
| – Heavy User (3+ Times per Week) | 0 | 28 | 90 | 4 | 5 |
| – Chronic (Longer Than 3 Months) | 0 | 77 | 90 | 4 | 7 |
| – Hashish | 1 – 4 | 42 | 90 | 4 | 5 |
| – Hash Oil | 1 – 4 | 42 | 90 | 4 | 5 |
| Meth (MethAmphetamine) | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Desoxyn | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| Methadone | 1 – 4 | 12 | 90 | 7 | 1 |
| Morphine | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 3 |
| Mushroom | 2 – 6 | 5 | 90 | 3 | Unknown |
| Nicotine | |||||
| – Nicotine – Casual User | 1 – 4 | 5 | 90 | 3 | 2 |
| – Nicotine – Chronic User | 0 | 14 | 90 | 7 | 5 |
| Opiates | 90 | 2 | |||
| – Laudanum | 1 – 4 | 1 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Butorphanol | 2 – 7 | 2 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Sadol | 2 – 7 | 2 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Codiene | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – Dextroproxphene | 2 | 3 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Heroin | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| – Hydrocodone | |||||
| – Hydromorphone | 2 – 6 | 3 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Dilaudid | 2 – 6 | 3 | 90 | 2 | 2 |
| – Morphine | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 2 – 7 | 3 |
| – Oxycodone | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – OxyContin | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – Percocet | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – Percodan | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – Tylox | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 3 |
| – Oxymorphone | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 5 | 3 |
| – Opana | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 5 | 3 |
| – Thebaine | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 2 | 1 |
| – Roxanol | 2 – 7 | 5 | 90 | 5 | 3 |
| PCP | 90 | ||||
| – PCP – Casual User | 2 – 6 | 7 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – PCP – Habitual | 0 | 10 | 90 | 5 | 2 |
| Ritalin – Methylphenidate | 1 – 4 | 5 | 90 | 5 | Unknown |
| Valium | 2 – 7 | 42 | 90 | 3 | 2 |
| – Diazepam | 2 – 7 | 42 | 90 | 3 | 2 |
| Xanax | 2 – 6 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
| – Alprazolam | 2 – 6 | 10 | 90 | 3 | 1 |
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Comments by Arianne McManus