I'm 17 years old and I've been looking for a summer job, which would basically be my first "real" job. I was offered a great one a few days ago by a friend where I'd basically be working in a giant park all summer by driving people around in golf carts and working on boats which I'd really like to do. I'd basically get to be outdoors all summer doing fun things while getting paid well. I went in for an interview yesterday and got a call/email back saying that I was accepted to work there and to go orientation tomorrow. I smoke weed every so often, maybe 1-2 times a month. The catch is that I also have to pay 15$ for a drug test, which I will most certainly fail. My questions are basically:
1) The friend who works there told me previously that they only tested for "hard" drugs, like PCP, cocaine or meth which I have never done. Is this actually a possibility or will I certainly lose the job because I smoked pot? I did some research (yay Googling) and found that basically all tests test for 5 certain types of drugs, including cannabis. If it matters, it's a saliva test.
2) Is there any way that I can be punished for trying and getting caught, I know that coming up positive on a drug test isn't the same as being caught with drugs actually on you, but is there any way for this to affect future employment opportunities for me or cause me to get in some kind of law enforcement/school trouble?
3) Should I even bother trying to pass the test and hoping that maybe they'll let me take the job if I explain to them that I'm not a heavy drug user and would stop completely if given the job, or should I just start looking for something else (and obviously cut back completely on smoking).
A lot of these questions are subjective and probably differ vastly depending on where you work, but I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this. Thanks for any help you guys can give, and I know I am very, very dumb.
Posts
2) No.
3) Depends on how long ago you used. If you haven't done anything in two weeks, you should be OK. Plus saliva test can be really unreliable, so you're probably fine even if it hasn't been two weeks.
Unless you use pot on a very regular basis, you’ll only test positive within a day or so, excluding hair sample tests. Those statistics about testing positive a month after using pot refer to people who use it for years on end and have huge quantities of pot-related stuff stashed in their fat cells.
Electronic composer for hire.
I had my brother's friend take it for me. Gave him my driver's license and told him my birth date. He's literally 7 inches shorter than me and 3 years younger(I'm 20), and he had no problem whatsoever. My brother's my dealer, and he said it was pretty common and no big deal.
It's not the government testing you, you can't get arrested or anything. Just make sure the guy looks marginally like you.
Also my roommate just got a job doing data entry for a pharmaceutical company that required a drug test. He had smoked 2 days before, and not being able to find anyone to take the test for him, said "fuck it" and took the test anyways. He got a call 3 days later saying he got the job. *Shrug*
OP: I didn't catch if you mentioned the last time you smoked, but everyone's advice so far on saliva tests has been right on. They'll pretty much only catch what you've done in the past 3-5 days. As long as you're good for that time-frame, you should be good in the test.
I'm just passing on the advice of my brother, which worked for me and has worked consistently with friends in his circle.
It might actually be illegal in that you are falsifying an identity to pass a test to get you a job or some such. I don't know all the legalities but I wouldn't play around with impersonation as there are much easier ways to pass a drug test even if it was a piss test.
And making you pay for thest is ridonkulous.
Shogun Streams Vidya
No, it's definitely not illegal. Unless he's applying for the police force or a government job, the worst that will happen is this: "Say, you don't look like your driver's license picture!" And then you walk out and find another job. Like you would have anyway since you'd definitely fail the test.
However, I'm not familiar with the saliva test. If you're sure there's stuff still in your system, though, I'd recommend against taking it anyways without exploring my option, if you've got a good friend that could pass for your ID pic.
I host a podcast about movies.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I host a podcast about movies.
Wii Code: 1040-1320-0724-3613 :!!:
False positives are POSSIBLE but very, very rare, particularly for pot. Certainly not common enough for a false positive for pot to hit you in 2/2 tests very often. Falses for other drugs are possible, but that's why you need to disclose what legal drugs you're on (this creates a genuine issue with a de facto violation of medical confidentiality, I'll give you that). The idea of a false positive ruining somebody's life/career is not very plausible to me.
I host a podcast about movies.
Wait I thought minors couldn't be drug tested at the workplace? This could be a complete mistake so I want someone to clarify for me. But being a minor and being forced to pay for a drug test just doesn't seem right. As in something smells fishy to me. I've never heard of the company not footing the bill for drug testing. If I were th OP I would be calling the company to get more concrete details because in my mind this doesn't add up.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Hey, it's their company and they make the rules as to how you get into their company. Now if we were talking about a government position, it might be different, but no, you don't have any extra rights when you're going out of your way to work for a private organization. You don't HAVE to work there.
Wii Code: 1040-1320-0724-3613 :!!:
What a loving brother.
Anyway, what you're suggesting is pretty damn illegal in most states and a lot of times the same people administering the test are going to be your boss. So they're going to notice that you've suddenly changed race/heigh/appearance when you come into work.
The best solution for the OP is to simply stop smoking weed. It's going to endanger you on the job, and if you get into an accident they WILL test you for insurance purposes, and you'll just lose your job then.
And the last time I smoked was 5 days ago.