Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

(Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9 carboxylic
acid, the active ingredient in marijuana)
levels high enough to result in a positive test
result for marijuana. Since these products
do not constitute a “legitimate medical
explanation” for the presence of THC in an
individual’s specimen, test results will be
confirmed as positive if they exceed the
minimum thresholds established with
corresponding FTA and employer
consequences. Part 40.151(f) states that the
Medical Review Officers (MRO) “must not
accept an assertion of consumption or other
use of a hemp or other non-prescription
marijuana-related product as a basis of
verifying a marijuana test negative.” This
also includes the medicinal use of marijuana
that may be permitted by some states, but is
not recognized by federal law.
If you choose to test for other drugs,
such as barbiturates, benzodiazepines (e.g.,
Valium, Librium, Xanax), nonbarbiturate
sedatives (e.g., Quaalude), and
nonamphetamine stimulants, you may do so
as long as the tests for those additional drugs
are performed separately from the FTA test.
Such testing is outside the scope of the FTA
regulation and is entirely at the discretion of
the transit system. Performing tests
separately means that you must obtain a
separate urine specimen from the employee
and process that specimen with its own nonfederal
custody and control form.
Employees must be notified whether they
are being tested under the FTA required
program or the employer’s program.
Section 1. OBTAINING
PROGRAM SERVICES
In establishing an effective drug testing
program, you will need to utilize certain
specialized service agents to perform
various functions. These include the
following:
• Specimen collection
• Laboratory testing
• Medical Review Officer (MRO)
• Substance Abuse Professional (SAP)
If you do not have qualified individuals
on staff, you will need to identify qualified
service agents to provide each of these
services. You may purchase the services of
each agent individually, or you may wish to
purchase services from a consortium or third
party administrator (C/TPA) that package
two or more services together for one price.
Chapter 11 provides a detailed discussion of
the use of C/TPAs, the services they
provide, and their limitations. Each of the
above services is discussed individually in
this section.
Section 2. SPECIMEN
COLLECTION
Collection Sites. All urine specimens
must be collected at an appropriate
collection site. A collection site is defined
(§40.3) as “a place selected by the employer
where employees present themselves for the
purpose of providing a urine specimen for a
drug test.” You are required to designate
one or more sites, depending on your needs.
Collection site services must be available
while safety-sensitive functions are
performed. Subsequently, many employers
have found it necessary to contract with
more than one collection site or obtain
supplemental on-call collection services to
ensure that all time periods are covered.
Typically, collection sites are located at
physician’s offices, commercial collection
sites, mobile vans, or a local hospital or
clinic; however, there is no requirement that
a collection site be located at a medical
facility. Any location that meets the
minimum requirements specified in Subpart
D of Part 40 may be used.
Chapter 7. Drug Testing Procedures 7-2 August 2002