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Issues has spent a great deal of time investigating the case of Bill from South Carolina who was fired after he tested positive for amphetamines. The following is the assessment of Issues it is in no way a medical or legal assessment of the situation.
DRUG TESTING PROCEDURES
GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT RECAP: Bill an over-the-road (OTR) Truck Driver, was involved in an accident in March 2002. Bill was a passenger in the truck, not the driver. The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) requires that every licensed driver involved in an accident be tested for drugs. An NIDA 5-drug panel test (a urinalysis test based on the National Institute on Drug Abuse standards, which utilizes five separate strips to test for the five most common drugs of abuse: THC (Marijuana), Amphetamines, Opiates, Cocaine, and PCP ( Angle Dust) was administered within 24 hours. The test was conducted at an Ohio Schaumberg DHHS Certified Testing Facility. (A certification program for laboratories. In order to receive certification these laboratories must meet minimum standards of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.) Bill's test returned positive for amphetamines. Bill claims the results are a false-positive, the laboratory states: there are no amphetamines in Adipex. (NOTE: This information was originally misconstrued due to the handwriting on the test results. The written notation appeared to indicate that the drug testing company was assuring the results were true-positive. After closer scrutiny, the handwritten evaluation claims there are NO amphetamines in Adipex) The trucking company immediately terminated Bill. (See also Rules and Regulations for returning to work and sections (c)(13); (c)(13)(i); and (c)(13)(ii)) Issues previously reported the response of phentermine.com indicating; "As Phentermine is similar chemically to Amphetamines, it may cause a positive result in urine screening tests for Amphetamines." The FDA appeared in agreement with its report; "From the sources available, phentermine is clearly related to amphetamines."
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Taking a closer look at the molecular structures of Phentermine, Methamphetamine and Amphetamine, one can see the extreme similarities between the three chemical structures: 
A number of organizations have submitted proof as to the inaccuracies of drug testing. Drugfreeschools.com indicates that the low cost, easy to administer tests often produce both false-positive and false negative results, and that all positive results should be backed up by the more accurate Gas Chromatograph/ Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) test. The sad fact is, everyone seems to be under the scrutiny of drug testing, even though the medical field realizes that these test may be inaccurate. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has fought the issue of drug testing for years, on both the merit of drug tests as well as violation of individual civil rights, still their challenge has remained unheard. An article by Intuitor.com offers a statistical insight into to what percentage of innocent people have incorrectly been identified as drug users as a result of inaccurate drug tests, which leads us to believe that in America, where drug testing is concerned we are guilty until proven innocent. Issues has assessed the information provided by both phentermine.com and the FDA in conjunction with the chemical structure of amphetamines, methamphetamines and phentermine; we have read and reread the drug tests results, the Adipex protocol sheet, and hundreds of articles on drugs and drug testing; utilizing all of this information Issues believes that this evidence has created reasonable doubt in connection to the positive drug test result Bill received. With Bill's permission, Issues will present this information to the drug testing company, the Department of Transportation and the trucking company that terminated Bill, in hopes of gaining at least a review in the matter.
Comments or Questions
issuesny@hotmail.com
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