What CDL Training Company Does Not Use Hair Follicle Testing?

And if you ever use again, you WILL most likely get caught.

Brett suggests:

I highly, highly suggest you wait until you've been completely clean for at least 6 - 9 months or more before you attempt getting into trucking. ... No one is really sure how far back those hair follicle tests go.

I asked the clinic at Swift about how much time are they concerned with. The answer (at Swift, at least) is 90 days back. The chemicals they look at do decay over time, so beyond 90 days the results would be questionable.

Grumpy Old Man had a short cut:

If it has been 2 months, cut your hair to 1/8” all over.

If you go this route, pay attention to all over. Yes, down there is part of "all over". Also, cutting your hair all over is close to admitting you have something to hide. Just sayin'.

I asked the clinic at Swift about how much time are they concerned with. The answer (at Swift, at least) is 90 days back. The chemicals they look at do decay over time, so beyond 90 days the results would be questionable.

Oh thanks for that! It's hard to get definitive information about how far it goes back. That's great to know.

They did a hair test on me. I didn't have enough head hair, so they shaved my chest. (even then it was hard to get enough hair since hair doesn't grow well on steel) My tests came back positive for Geritol, Preparation H, and horse liniment. (The knees) But the company still hired me under the Senior Citizen Exemption (Federal regulation BS101)

This topic comes up enough but lately it hasn't been too often. In a quick summary...

Hair follicle tests are using a process of detection that look for a metabolite of THC (the giggle giving fun stuff) called THC A. This stuff works through the blood stream all over the body post ingestion, including hair root (specifically the papilla where hair begins it's adventure in life ).

It will be recorded in the hair like a fossil record sort of. As the hair develops and grows out, the record stays inside the shaft. Takes about 7 days to emerge from the body. The more consumed makes a bigger record.

Once they need a sample, they cut anywhere from 100 to 200 hairs. Think about an index finger width or less. Instructions go on about making sure an inch and half is used because after this length , UV and other factors really can mess with results. Right now 90 days is the confirmed rate for accurate results. As tech changes everything, this may eventually change as well.

So now hair is at the lab where they first wash it, sort of mince it and bathe it in a solution that takes it apart in a way. There are different components of the hair that will separate, like keratin and possibly THC A if present. Then THAT will be transferred to another solution that uses antibodies to target enzymes of choice, going after THC A and or other drugs depending on the panel scheduled.

If a positive hit for the THC A is discovered then the sample moves on to a confirmation testing, this time a bit more advanced. A gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The user manual on this hog probably could be used as a bullet proof vest. This is also the machine originally used to determine finally the age of the earth by counting elements in samples from meteorites and earth, all very fascinating.

Alright so in goes the sample and it's vaporized (ripped apart at the molecular level) , funneled about, then organized and counted. So all the different materials can be separated and catalogued. The test detects the molecular signature of the THC A and tallies the concentration. Now they can count the picograms. Anything over 0.1 picograms or 1 / 10 trillionth of a gram) is confirmed as usage.

THE way to beat a hair test is to not ingest. THE way to not fail a hair test if you have ingested is to remove all hair (get it all, like an Olympian swimmer, a brand new baby, you should look like a hairless cat) after a month or so of ingestion and wait for the proper length of hair (1.5 inches) to grow back.

Don't ruin your shot by taking a chance. Cut the hair today and wait 3 months. Don't leave here to Google more results that will agree with what you are hoping. Don't listen to people who try to bleach damage or buy kits to clean the hair. At best they will know you've contaminated the hair on purpose and at worst they don't work and are a waste of money.

There are also home kits you can purchase and use discreetly. Do this once you've regrown the adequate hair for absolute peace of mind. Then stick to environments that are clear of any drugs or narcotics of any kind.

Cheers !

They did a hair test on me. I didn't have enough head hair, so they shaved my chest. (even then it was hard to get enough hair since hair doesn't grow well on steel) My tests came back positive for Geritol, Preparation H, and horse liniment. (The knees) But the company still hired me under the Senior Citizen Exemption (Federal regulation BS101)

Federal regulation BS 101, that's funny right there!

Brett suggests:

I highly, highly suggest you wait until you've been completely clean for at least 6 - 9 months or more before you attempt getting into trucking. ... No one is really sure how far back those hair follicle tests go.

I asked the clinic at Swift about how much time are they concerned with. The answer (at Swift, at least) is 90 days back. The chemicals they look at do decay over time, so beyond 90 days the results would be questionable.

Grumpy Old Man had a short cut:

If it has been 2 months, cut your hair to 1/8” all over.

If you go this route, pay attention to all over. Yes, down there is part of "all over". Also, cutting your hair all over is close to admitting you have something to hide. Just sayin'.

After cutting it to 1/8", you wait for it to grow back to 1 1/2". That way you definitely have 90 days worth of clean hair.

It will show up in any hair you have, the reason body hair will go back a year is because it grows slower. If you leave your hair longer, and they test the ends instead of just the roots and up to 1 1/2", it will still show up. Once it is in the hair, it stays, but if you cut your hair, the part it is in gets cut away, on your head. Most people don't cut their body hair.

I went through TMC orientation 1/7/19 and did a split urine test (no idea what that is) only...no hair.

I did drug test for Roehl in late December and they did split urine and hair.

They did a hair test on me. I didn't have enough head hair, so they shaved my chest. (even then it was hard to get enough hair since hair doesn't grow well on steel) My tests came back positive for Geritol, Preparation H, and horse liniment. (The knees) But the company still hired me under the Senior Citizen Exemption (Federal regulation BS101)

😂😂😂 Thank you for that.