Taking A 7 Panel Drug Test

A 7 panel drug test is an effective way of quickly checking for evidence of drug use by an individual. Most commonly, 7 panel drug tests are used by employers in a controlled screening for many legal and illegal drugs that are commonly abused.

These tests look for small amounts of substances in urine as an indicator that the person has had drugs in their body. In rare case, a false positive can be triggered when a positive drug test is taken, despite that person not having taken drugs.

Urine drug tests of this type are easy to get hold off but are normally much cheaper when bought online from specialist companies such as Zoom Testing. It is one of the most common multi-drug tests. Simpler 3 panel drug tests or, 5 panel drug tests, can also be obtained, as well as “all singing and dancing” 13 panel tests.

What is a 7 panel drug test?

A 7 panel drug test is designed to find seven of the most frequently used drugs of abuse. Normally the test will incorporate panels for both illicit street drugs and prescription medications.

The test is will screen a person’s urine for trace drugs. This type of drug test is simple and effective as most drugs can be detected leaving the body in a person’s urine. Normally the test takes the form of a flat plastic card which is dipped into a sample of urine. Sometimes though it can take the form of a 7 panel drug test with integrated cup.

Normally, urine testing is much better at detecting long-term substance use than saliva dug testing. Blood or hair testing can also be reliable for detecting long term drug use, but they tend to be expensive or more complicated methods.

For many companies, urine drug testing is the preferred choice as it is simple and accurate.

What Drugs Can the Test Find?

As you might expect, a 7 panel drug test will screen and individual for 7 different types of drugs.

Cannabis

Our 7 panel drug test will screen for cannabis and its resins, including:

Cannabis / Marijuana extracts, including THC oil, wax, and Cannabis Shatter.

Cocaine

A 7 panel drug test will screen for cocaine. It will also detect other drugs that contain cocaine, such as crack cocaine or freebase.

Opioids

Opioids come in a number of different types, varying from illegal drugs to prescription pills. A few of the most common ones include:

codeine
heroin
hydrocodone
oxycodone
morphine
smoked opium

Benzodiazepines, or benzos

Most 7 panel drug test will include a panel that checks for benzodiazepines. Also known as benzos, prescription drugs that fall under this category include:

These multi panel drug tests will also screen for benzodiazepines, or benzos.This will include prescription drugs such as:

Doctors often prescribe these drugs for common medical issues, However, they can also be abused.

Amphetamines

An amphetamine screen is normally a standard on the 7 panel drug test. Drugs that fall into this category can include:

amphetamine sulphate, or speed
methamphetamine, or meth
medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Brand names such as Adderall and Ritalin.

Detection times

The amount of time taken for the body to dispose of any traces of drugs will vary, depending on the drug. Detection times for drugs can often vary greatly.

One huge factor is the amount of drugs taken by the person and the speed of their metabolism which is working to remove the drug from the body.

It is important to note that the 7 panel drug test will not confirm if a person is on drugs now. By measuring drug byproducts in the body, the test can indicate past use but not how much of the drug is circulating in a person’s body.

The Zoom Testing website has a page which provides a rough estimate for detection times for various drugs via urine tests

Getting Tested? What To Expect

If you are selected for random drug testing by your employer, you will normally get at least 24 hours notice. It may be less though. Either way, if you are undergoing a 7 panel drug test at work, your employer should have the consent of the employee.

Before the test you may receive special instructions. This could include not urinating for at least two hours before the test. Or you may be compelled to avoid drinking extra water before the screening procedure.

Test Procedure

Depending on the facilities available, the test environment may vary. Normally you will be asked to take the test in a bathroom. Often bluing tablets will be used within the designated stall to make sure your are not trying to cheat the drug test.

By turning off taps in the bathroom, or adding dye to the water the chances of faking the result of the drug test is reduced greatly. It is very rare that a same sex administrator would be present in the same room as the person taking the test.

Taking the 7 Panel Drug Test

This is the easy bit. To take the test, all you will be required to do is to pee. The urine is collected in a sample collection cup. This sample is then handed, once the lid has been applied, to the test administrator.

Reading The Results

The initial result will be available to the administrator within minutes of you taking the test. If any of the panels on the 7 Panel Drug Test are positive, your sample may be sent off to a laboratory for confirmation of the result.

What Do the Results Mean?

There are three outcomes when taking a 7 Panel Drug Test. They are:

positive
negative
inconclusive

Positive results

A positive result is returned if the detectable amount of drugs is higher than the cut-off level for that substance.

This result would suggest that the person has taken that drug recently, as drug byproducts are high enough to be detected.

Often a laboratory test may follow a positive urine test. This provides a way of confirming that the result is correct and not a false positive.

Negative results

A negative result shows that a drug is not present in a person’s system. Or that the drug is present, but not in quantities that are high enough to be detected. This results does not necessarily mean that the person has not used the drug in the past.