confused..

[naive_21]

hello there.. are valiums illegal? can anyone fail a pre- employment drug test for taking such? how can they trace this?

[monkeyflower]

They're a controlled substance, so yes, it's illegal if you don't have a prescription.

They probably check for THC, cocaine, amphetamine, benzos (which Valium is one), opiates... through a urine or blood sample, although some use hair.

[naive_21]

how long or rather how many days before valiums be washed out through your body?

[anxiousmomtobe?]

A long time, especially if they test your hair....

don't take other peoples's meds!!

[spade22]

I am only going to post this information because you, and others in your situation, will see that taking illegal drugs will impact severly "many" areas of life - including getting/losing a job.

First off, valium is a controlled substance.  If this is found in your drug screen, and you do not have a prescription for it, you will fail the test.

Hair tests are becoming a very popular method for use as pre-employment drug screening.  It's the most accurate test because it is NOT possible to adulter the sample (chemicals are entrapped withing the hair shaft and can not be removed) and the standard test examines the most recent 3 months of drug history (it is possible to look at a longer window, e.g 1 year). Many substances are detectable in urine for about a month after use.  Blood tests have a window of less than a week and are the least commonly used test as these are the most invasive.  (BTW: Spinal fluid can also be used to check drug use but it only used in exceptional circumstances - getting a job in the FBI is one of them)

The tests work by preparing the sample, in the appropriate manner, and injecting it into a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer.  Different compounds have different  retention times (time it takes them to be eluted from the column in the GC-MS) and unique molecular masses so it is possible to determine if any illegal/controlled substances are in your system.  Moreover, by injecting a set of  standards of known mass into the GC-MS the AMOUNT of each illegal subtance in YOUR system can be determined by integrating the peak areas.  The results are quite accurate and the GC-MS is a very sensitive instrument so the detectable limits (thresholds) of substances are VERY low - a TRACE amount of substance is readily detectable(<0.000000001 g quantities.  A would estimate a grain of sugar to weigh about 0.005 mg).

[naive_21]

what if you only took it because you can't sleep? can that be a valid reason?

[spade22]

"what if you only took it because you can't sleep.  Is that a valid reason?"

Absolutely not.  What you have done is illegal - there is no valid justification for that.

[Cletus_VanDamm]

The only "valid" reason you could have, is if you have a prescription. NOW DO YOU HAVE A PRESCRIPTION OR NOT?????
If you donr have an RX, than you just failed your test!

[sparkeler]

Do you have a prescription for them?  If not it is illegal.  But to be honest if I couldn't sleep or was stressed I would take other peoples medicine too.  My aunt used to give me xanax if I had a panick attack before I got my own prescription.  Now, if your stealing them thats a different story.  But I don't think taking a few vailuum for sleep w/out a prescription isn't all that bad.  Be careful though, as with any controlled substance, there is a risk of dependency.

[sk2006a]

i think people injest friends and relatives drugs all the time.  i know i've taken my mothers pain pills on several occasions.  it never would had occured to me to worry about taking - and failing - a drug test because of it!

[La_Snagalanchera]

If you take a drug test, you have to list all the drugs you are currently taking (or have taken over the past month).  If you then test positive for something else, you have some 'splaining to do.  
Most times you would have to prove you had a prescription for it.  If not, you failed and are generally not hired.

[glad2bamom]

I agree with LaSnag.
(hello, by the way)

Oftentimes, if you list it, there will be a place beside it for who the prescriber is.  I would think that if you have a script, you have nothing to worry about.  However, it sounds as if you do not have a script, so I would still list it.  It is better to be honest and up front about it, and if they ask, say, "My xx has these, and I had a horrible migraine...blah blah blah."  I think you'd be in a heap of more trouble if you concealed it and they found it anyway.  
I am guilty of using other peoples' meds...like my husband has a prescription for Ambien, and sometimes when I can't sleep, he gives me one.  However, I know what meds I take, and I know what has the potential to interact.  I know its wrong, but if people were honest, I think you'd find that lots of people take their moms/friends/hubby's, etc meds.  
Now, taking A pill is a long way away from abusing the substance.  How many have you taken?

[Crritter]

Even if you have a good reason for taking a med, especially a controlled one, it is illegal to take them without an rx, and they will check to verify that you have an rx.  The others are tight, you will fail if you are self medicating without an rx, it is illegal to give another person your meds, so you can get into trouble.  That said, I'm sure it probably is a far cry from abusing the drug, but they have no way to tell who is and isn't and have to draw the line somewhere.  I would not mess with it, especially if you know you have to take a drug test, we do random ones at work and have no idea  when they will arrive, they do it onsite, so you are pretty much screwed if you can't account for the drugs in your system.