Please help. DH applied for police force, passed all stages but failed final drug test. He has never taken drugs.

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Title explains it all really. DH was accepted into the police force, just had to have a drugs test as routine and has received a letter today saying he failed and they will no longer accept him. He cannot get in touch with anybody about it.

Believe me, he does not take drugs. He's a tee-total non-smoker and has never taken anything. There is no way.

It was a hair test, he was wearing hair gel and had probably taken paracetamol or nurofen in the month previous to being tested.

Any ideas?

What do we do?

I know we need to find out what he tested positive for, but this can't be happening and he is panicking/upset/devastated.

I'm no scientist - but does he hang around with anyone who takes drugs..I think you can inhale enough 0of someone elses joint to fail a drugs test...?

I would definitely ask them for more details.

Good Luck, you must be really frustrated.

Is he on ANY prescribed medications?

My dad failed a drug test. He forgot to inform the testing centre of an array of medications he'd been taking to control hypertension.

Sounds like a mistake to me. He should appeal

Does he eat food with poppy seeds in it? That could cause him to test positive for opiates.

My DH is in the police SOH....never heard of a hair test before.....sounds weird.

Can you phone your forces HQ and speak to someone there about it?

What force was he applying to?

It's Norfolk constabulary.

He is on no medication and we have no friends who take drugs. He despises poppy seeds.

He is, however, a publican so occasionally has to evict people having a crafty joint. It could be this.

Nobody will talk to him. He's phoned repeatedly. He's even phoned the hair gel manufacturer for a complete list of ingredients.

I can't find anything about appeals and the police won't talk to him.

this doesn't add up to me - a hair sample will not give an indication of what is in the blood stream.

my bil is in the police force and I'm sure he at least had to give a urine sample.

have you seen the letter? what exactly does it say?

am sorry to ask this but are you absolutely sure your dh hasn't taken anything, maybe experimentally even when out with a friend, that he perhaps didn't tell you about?

I am 100% positive. He is an athlete and would not touch anything illegal. He is completely clean living.

Found this on the Internet though:

"Hair testing is a deeply flawed technology . If you take Ibuprofen (the over-the-counter pain killer) you will test positive for taking cannabis. This is a fairly well known 'false positive'. Others famously include poppy seed bagels leading to failed tests for Opium and night-nurse style remedies causing people to fail for cocaine"

I haven't seen the letter just know that it says he failed and they are rejecting him.

I'm no help but I just have to say it again....I can't believe that they do hair testing for something so important as people's lifes and careers....what madness.

there was an article in the paper at the weekend about a school girl who had failed a drug test. it was traced back to her toothpaste!

I can't take this today.

I was knocked over by a cyclist this morning on the way to work and have spent the morning in a minor injuries clinic, have a sprained shoulder and bruising. I'm 30 weeks pregnant, just found out I'm anaemic and now this.

I just want to cry.

I heard that hair testing is a very efficient way of testing for drugs etc, I saw it in the mortuary of one of the many cop dramas I watch!

Message withdrawn

I would imagine hair testing to be vastly inaccurate, after all hair is exposed to all the external factors isn't it so anything could unknowingly get on to it.

Can you dh speak to the recruitment officer to at least find out what he's tested positive for? he will need to persivere as these people are generally very difficult to get hold of. my bil is in gloucester constabulary and he had issues re his medical as he used to be epileptic and he's the first person to be accepted into the police following change in the rules re accepting people with certain conditions etc. But he did persivere and he's been in the force for about 18 months now.

I expect that you already have these contact details but just in case.....the recruitment team number for Norfolk police is 01953 423823.
and email addresss...
[email protected].

maybe they can put you through to some poeple that may know more....although they may 'close ranks' abit.

This is the headquarters address and number too.
POLICE AUTHORITY
CLERKS OFFICE
JUBILEE HOUSE
FALCONERS CHASE
WYMONDHAM NORFOLK NR18 0WW
Tel: 01953 424455

"I saw it in a mortuary of one of the many cop dramas I watch!" must be true then

Sorry to hear about your bike accident today too....are you okay SOH?
X

Definitely appeal, IMO. Mistakes do happen and you've got nothing to lose.

I doubt they would say something in such a drama if it was false to be honest, it's obvious that you can tell many things from your hair.

Thank you Coggy. I've said it before but I blardy love you.

I want to phone up myself but I really will be the mad pregnant woman crying hysterically down the phone.

My blood pressure's high anyway today after being knocked over this morning. This cannot be good for the baby.

I hope you are ok SOH & that you get an appeal!

I'm worried about DH, worried about the baby.

It's the worst possible news. He's been through hoops for 18 months to get this far, just had to pass this drugs test. Ironically, it was the one stage of assessment we weren't concerned about.

and eastenders is also a true depiction of real life .

hair is exposed to all sorts of external things, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes, potentially drugs from other sources, I could have traces of cannabis on my hands and touch your hair and you would fail a hair drugs test. so no, I don't think it's accurate.

soh, you need to look after yourself, whatever happens, your dh will be ok.

xx