Probation Drug Testing and Urine Dilution

My question involves criminal law for the state of: INDIANA

So I am on home detention for 45 days. I am off on July 18. Anyways, I am prescribed klonopin for anxiety. It hasn’t been showing up on my drug screens the past three times. I drink tons of water so I am wondering if my urine is technically dilute and that’s why I’m testing negative? Anyway, they sent my urine to the lab. So now I am wondering if it will come back dilute and they can’t test it? I’m really worried because I took an Ativan which is in the same class as a benzo. I only took one, 2 hours before my test with two bottles of water so I’m not even sure it would show in my urine?

Is the Ativan prescribed to you? Is your PO aware you are taking it? Did you disclose it to the testing facility when they asked what medications you have taken recently?

Whether or not the drug test can distinguish Ativan from Klonopin will depend upon the test administered. If the test is for benzodiazepines, generally, then either or both in combination could trigger a positive test result; and that in turn might trigger an additional test to try to determine exactly what drugs were consumed. If your probation officer knows that you take prescription benzodiazepines, then a positive result in a general test may not trigger further testing; but if not, or if your probation officer is concerned that you're also (or instead) taking benzodiazepines that were not prescribed, additional testing is possible.

If your urine comes back as dilute, that may potentially be deemed a "failure" even if you haven't taken any drugs.

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Quoting free9man

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Is the Ativan prescribed to you? Is your PO aware you are taking it? Did you disclose it to the testing facility when they asked what medications you have taken recently?

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I am prescribed Klonopin but I am not prescribed Ativan. My PO is aware that I take Klonopin. She is wondering why it is not registering on the drug screens in office. That is why she sent it off to the lab. Every drug screen I’ve had, I have to drink 1-3 bottles of water so I can give them a urine sample. I am thinking that the urine sample must be diluted. I would think that if the urine test in office does not show anything, then the lab will not either, especially if it is dilute. My drug screens are random so this is why I have to drink a lot of water in order to take a drug screen.

I hope that since she knows that I take Klonopin that she will not order further testing.

A test done at a lab can show more than a the test done at the office. And yes 3 bottles of water right before a test can and usually will result in a diluted specimen, but at the lab the lab they may be able to actually get a result even if the specimen is somewhat diluted.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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A test done at a lab can show more than a the test done at the office. And yes 3 bottles of water right before a test can and usually will result in a diluted specimen.

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How long does it typically take for them to get results? My test was at 9:30 this morning.
If it is dilute, what is the procedure for that? I can always provide them another sample.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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A test done at a lab can show more than a the test done at the office. And yes 3 bottles of water right before a test can and usually will result in a diluted specimen, but at the lab the lab they may be able to actually get a result even if the specimen is somewhat diluted.

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Aren’t there “cut off” levels? I never take Ativan besides today, 2 hours before my test..

How long it takes depends on the lab. No more than a couple of days is the norm.

There are cut off levels but if you took Ativan 2 hours before the test you will most certainly show positive if the specimen is readable.

My question involves criminal law for the state of: INDIANA

I apologize if this is a duplicate but I have done some research on the drug testing clinic for probation in my county. The cut off level for the drug I took is 50 ng/ml. I took Ativan and it says the peak serum would register at 20 ng/ml. My question is that if it is BELOW the cut off level, will it be reported as negative? I have a prescription for klonopin but it will not show that in the lab. Please don’t bash me on this, I know it was not the best decision especially when I already have medication for my anxiety.

You will find out if they report your urine as diluted, and whether they report you as positive for Ativan, after the results are returned.

Generally, they would report it even if the result showed only the remaining amount metabolize in your urine.

Why are they testing for a drug they know the OP has a,prescription for ? Are the checking to see if he is selling it instead of taking it ?

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Quoting Mercy&Grace

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Why are they testing for a drug they know the OP has a,prescription for ? Are the checking to see if he is selling it instead of taking it ?

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According to OP's posts, if I read them right, the issue is the prescription drug is not showing up on the regular panel like it is expected to. Possibly because OP consumes so much water, it is diluting the sample too much. So they are sending a sample for more in-depth analysis at a more advanced facility. OP is concerned that the better equipment might not only pick up what they are prescribed but also the drug they took for which they have no prescription.

If I were a probation officer, I'd have heard a lot of nervous pill lovers throw out these sorts of excuses and give me just one "Doctor prescribed" easy med that I'm taking like legally, you know, and then give the excuse that I HAVE to drink lots of water or I can't give a sample blah blah blah...and then I take just about anything and everything when not anticipating drug testing. I would, frankly, test the fire out of this person, frequently and thoroughly. There's just a little too much dissembling, attempting to get the stories straight, find out EXACTLY what the process is, so I can beat it.(?)
OP, broadcast a little less discussion with your probation officer about your drug tests or they're going to be convinced there's a problem and an issue there, I'm already smelling it from here. "Don't judge me!" is something addicts say.

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Quoting kmae89

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: INDIANA

I apologize if this is a duplicate but I have done some research on the drug testing clinic for probation in my county. The cut off level for the drug I took is 50 ng/ml. I took Ativan and it says the peak serum would register at 20 ng/ml. My question is that if it is BELOW the cut off level, will it be reported as negative? I have a prescription for klonopin but it will not show that in the lab. Please don’t bash me on this, I know it was not the best decision especially when I already have medication for my anxiety.

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The cut off is for a positive result. A lab can see and report a level lower than the cutoff it just isn't considered positive.

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Quoting comment/ator

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I HAVE to drink lots of water or I can't give a sample blah blah blah..

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I'm not on probation nor am I a drug user by I am legit one of those folks. My old company used to hate when I got pulled for randoms cause it would take forever to get a sample.

Perhaps you shouldn't be taking any drugs that are not prescribed to you while on probation...that might solve a lot of issues for you.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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The cut off is for a positive result. A lab can see and report a level lower than the cutoff it just isn't considered positive.

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If you show positive metabolites in a dilute sample, a lab can in fact deem that as a "positive dilute" result, and a probation officer can treat dilution (and, particularly, repeated incidents of dilution) as a basis to initiate probation violation proceedings.

I was speaking about drug tests general. Yes the probation officer has a wider range of authority to deal with such things.

An Medical Review Officer is bound by the standards and could not consider such a specimen positive.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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An Medical Review Officer is bound by the standards and could not consider such a specimen positive.

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This isn't a DOT matter, nor would the policies that govern a Medical Review Officer limiting on the ability or practice of a drug testing facility to find that metabolites in a diluted sample are a "positive dilute" result.

I believe I acknowledged that in the first sentence of my post that you didn't quote.

P.S. MROs aren't only used for DOT drug tests.

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Quoting PayrolGuy

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P.S. MROs aren't only used for DOT drug tests.

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What leads you to imagine that the ostensible practices of a MRO have even the teensiest relevancy to this question?

Because I was originally speaking of drug screens in general.

You really are simply being argumentative now.

Nope. I was responding on point, and was unfortunately having to also respond to your wildly off-point posts.