Ask Erowid

Ask a Question


Find an answer:

View By Category

Search Ask Erowid
Search Vaults


Enter a keyword in the search field above to look up a question or answer on a specific topic.

Off-Site Psychoactive Question Resources
  Ask Dr Shulgin

Resources at Erowid
  Plants & Drugs
  Freedom & Law
  Mind & Spirit
  Arts & Sciences
  Library / Bookstore
  What's New
  About Erowid
  .
Is Oxycodone detected with a standard Opiate drug test?
Q: Erowid,



I noticed that in the drug testing question/answer area you say that Oxycodone, such as percocet, is rarely tested for even in extended drug tests, thus seldom detected.



Yet, "Sophie" answered a question that any oxycodone present is likely to cause a positive drug test?



Which is right please?



JustWondering

A: Thanks for your question. We did some more research to try to verify the answer. What we've come up with is that both answers are somewhat correct.



The standard drug screen for opiates--generally performed with a dipstick, test strip, or specialized cup which urine is placed in--will detect the presence of oxycodone as it cross-reacts with morphine in these tests. But in almost all cases, a positive drug screen for opiates would result in a confirmation test being done with a more sensitive method such as GC/MS.



The standard GC/MS test for opiates looks specifically for the presence of either morphine or codeine. These tests will detect the use of heroin because heroin breaks down into both morphine and codeine in the body. But oxycodone does NOT break down into either morphine or codeine, so the confirmation GC/MS test for an individual who has ingested oxycodone should come back negative.



Without a positive confirmation test, most testing companies will report a negative result. Depending on the reason for the testing and the group doing the testing, in some cases they might opt to do a variety of more sophisticated tests to look for the presence of substances such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. In these cases, the use of oxycodone would be detected.



We'll try to make this information clearer in the various places it appears on Erowid. Thanks for pointing out the issue.



peace,

fire

Asked By : JustWondering
Answered By : fire
Published Date : 10 / 15 / 2002
Last Edited Date : 10 / 18 / 2002
Question ID : 2999

Categories: [ Opiates ] [ Drug Testing ]



Ask Erowid v1.7 - Jul, 2005

(content and html © the Vaults of Erowid. Please ask permission before publicly reproducing.)