Testing for the use of marijuana necessitates one or more levels of assessment
Testing for the use of marijuana necessitates one or more levels of assessment, depending on the clinical application of the test results. The EMIT-dau screening test with a sensitivity limit of 20 ng/ml is highly satisfactory for screening for the absence of marijuana in the urine.
This test has a virtual 100% true-negative rate as long as an unadulterated urine specimen is analyzed. Positive results by the EMIT-dau procedure are presumptive because the test seems to produce false-positive results when applied to a random population of suspected drug users. In a population in a specific clinical environment such as in drug-treatment programs in which 20 of every 100 specimens will yield positive THC-COOH results by EMIT-dau screening, 3 (15%) of the 20 positive results will likely be false-positive. Our experience with the EMIT-dau suggests that of 100 test results, 3 will be false-positive, an overall 3% false-positive rate.
If a positive test result will put the patient in considerable jeopardy and the screening result is the only evidence of drug use, confirmatory testing is imperative. Of the confirmatory tests, GC/MS seems to have the specificity necessary to provide a high level of confidence in the results. A combination of the EMIT procedure with a sensitivity level of 20 ng/ml and GC/MS confirmation yields virtually 100% accuracy in detection of marijuana abuse.