Drug Testing - Debunking the "faint line" myth
A widely held belief states that when using a home UA test, the intensity of the red/pink line in the test window can indicate how close someone is to the 50 ng/ml threshold, commonly used as the cutoff levels for UA tests.
Using myself as an example, I have abstained for 2 months now, due to an upcoming UA in a week or two. I purchased about 15 drug tests off the internet, and I have tested myself for the last month or so. I have found that as soon as yesterday, when I used my first void of the day, I have had results on the UA where the test line is just as faint as the test line was a month ago, when using the first void of the day as well.
I have always heard that thc has a half-life anywhere from 1-10 days. Therefore, if I passed multiple tests one month ago, that would mean I passed with a max thc byproduct count of 49.99 ng/ml. Because the half-life is a max of 10 days, that means that 10 days later my max ng/ml count would be at 24.98, and another ten days later (which was a few days ago) the max count would be 12.99. However, the tests I have taken recently have had test lines which were just as faint as the test lines a month ago (yes, I took pictures). This has been the case, even though by definition, the ng/ml in my body surely decreased during this time due to thc half-life.
I understand one possible explanation would be exercise and diet, however, these two things have been completely consistent with me for months and months now. I eat the same exact stuff, and run 4 times a week, for many months now. I run on the same days of the week every week, and I took the tests on the same days of the week every week!!
Therefore, it is my feeling that when people say a fainter line means you are closer to the "threshold" this is actually inaccurate. I know a lot of knowledgeable people post here, so I am curious if anyone has any reasons why my thinking is incorrect. :)
Drug Testing - Debunking the "faint line" myth
Quote:
Originally Posted by killercam
Using myself as an example, I have abstained for 2 months now, due to an upcoming UA in a week or two. I purchased about 15 drug tests off the internet, and I have tested myself for the last month or so. I have found that as soon as yesterday, when I used my first void of the day, I have had results on the UA where the test line is just as faint as the test line was a month ago, when using the first void of the day as well.
I have always heard that thc has a half-life anywhere from 1-10 days. Therefore, if I passed multiple tests one month ago, that would mean I passed with a max thc byproduct count of 49.99 ng/ml. Because the half-life is a max of 10 days, that means that 10 days later my max ng/ml count would be at 24.98, and another ten days later (which was a few days ago) the max count would be 12.99. However, the tests I have taken recently have had test lines which were just as faint as the test lines a month ago (yes, I took pictures). This has been the case, even though by definition, the ng/ml in my body surely decreased during this time due to thc half-life.
I understand one possible explanation would be exercise and diet, however, these two things have been completely consistent with me for months and months now. I eat the same exact stuff, and run 4 times a week, for many months now. I run on the same days of the week every week, and I took the tests on the same days of the week every week!!
Therefore, it is my feeling that when people say a fainter line means you are closer to the "threshold" this is actually inaccurate. I know a lot of knowledgeable people post here, so I am curious if anyone has any reasons why my thinking is incorrect. :)
That is awesome that you not only understand half life but did a good job explaining it. You did make one slight mathematical mistake though, very slight. 24.98 after a half life becomes 12.49 but I'm sure that was an oversight.
Most of the time when people talk of the faint line we are talking very faint like a ghost hair faint. If you are comparing the faintness of the line to the control line, most of the time the test line is not nearly as dark as the control line, even if you test distilled water.
I hear what you are saying and feel free to post pics. I'm sure your scenario plays out sometimes the way you say it, that the line is faint no matter if you are at 48 ng/ml or 2 ng/ml but it can also go the other way, that there is areason why the line is faint. In this war against pot smokers, it is better to be safe than sorry. But it probably also plays out sometimes where the THC line is faint because someone is close and sometimes it is just faint because. There are many different brands too. Sometimes the tests havent been stored properly. There are many reasons why the line might be faint but it is just best to play it safe than sorry, especially when giving advice to those who are getting faint lines. There are also the 1 or 2 times out of a hundred when someone gets a line but fails anyway.
Drug Testing - Debunking the "faint line" myth
This has been my experience too. My thc line has always been faint and the control line bright no matter how long its been since I've smoked.
Drug Testing - Debunking the "faint line" myth
Quote:
Therefore, it is my feeling that when people say a fainter line means you are closer to the "threshold" this is actually inaccurate.
Inaccurate because those people are merely speculating, since drug assay kits lack the ability to give a quantitive value (unlike the GC/MS test).
I was able to produce faint lines with synthetic urine on a few 5 panel assay cassettes in the past. Granted, the faint lines appeared in 2 of the (off-topic) drug panels, rather than the THC panel. And we all know that synthetic urine is drug-free.
