Members of the United States Armed Forces are held to understandably strict standards when it comes to the use of drugs. While this is in large part for the purpose of protecting the safety of individual personnel, it is also for the purpose of maintaining order throughout the military. In order to ensure that service members are adhering to this, the military often utilizes random unit sweeps and drug testing.
In order to test for drugs amongst service members, they are required to provide a urine sample. The Department of Defense, which tests about 700,000 samples annually, makes sure that no drugs are found in anyone’s systems. Military members are generally required to provide at least one sample for urinalysis per year.
What Substances Does the Test Check For?
There are a number of different banned and illegal substances that are checked for through the urinalysis. Such substances include:
- Amphetamine
- Cocaine
- Heroin
- LSD
- Marijuana
- PCP
- Steroids
How the analysis works is that urine will only be found to be positive for these banned substances if there is above a certain amount detected.
What Happens if You Fail a Urinalysis?
If your test results come back positive, it can be difficult to overcome the assumption of your guilt. This is because there is also an assumption that all parties have complied with the collection, maintenance, and shipping of the specimens. However, this is not to say that there is always compliance. But generally, any issues aren’t significant to discredit the results of your urinalysis.
If you receive a positive urinalysis, you’ll most likely be asked to repeat the test and to provide a second sample. While some refer to this as a retest, it’s not really since most illegal drugs will be detectable in your system for just a matter of days.
Since it can take a couple of weeks to provide a sample, have it shipped to the lab, and receive your results, (assuming that you do not continue to use the drug) by the time you provide a second sample, there is a good chance that you’ll no longer have a detectable level of the drug. Therefore, if a service member unknowingly ingested an illicit drug, it should come back negative the second time around.
Should you receive a positive test result, it’s important that you do the following:
- Refrain from talking to anyone about the situation
- Do NOT consent to searches
- Do NOT consent to provide another urinalysis
- Do NOT waive any of your rights to an administrative separation hearing
- Consult with a knowledgeable and experienced military attorney
The Court-Martial Law Division of Aviso Law LLC Helps Military Members in Colorado Who Have Been Charged with a Crime
It’s important to understand that the U.S. Government has an interest in obtaining a conviction as soon as possible, as it does not wish to gain negative publicity about one of its service members. That is why it is so important to consult with a knowledgeable and experienced military attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected.
If you are a military service member (active or reserve) and have been issued a positive urinalysis result, the Court-Martial Law Division of Aviso Law LLC can help. Call us right away! We proudly serve our military members, who sacrifice so much for our country. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, contact us today!
