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Schr32 · Jun 24, 2011, 08:37 AM

The drink was a Smirnoff Ice fruit drink mixed with Sprite.

jcaron2 · Jun 24, 2011, 11:02 AM

The hype from such tests would suggest that ETG can be detected in the blood up to 80 hours after consuming a drink. However, there's a decent study published here which would suggest that the test is unlikely to come back positive after such a low dose of alcohol and such a long waiting time. Note that in this study, even the subjects who drank relatively large doses of alcohol (more than six drinks) did not give positive results after 48 hrs.

Schr32 · Jun 24, 2011, 01:09 PM

It's an ETG urine test. Does that make a difference?

jcaron2 · Jun 24, 2011, 01:23 PM

That's the same test they did in the study.

I wouldn't say it's a 100% guarantee that the test will come back negative, but if you believe that study and the previous one they referenced, the odds are pretty good.

Schr32 · Jun 27, 2011, 07:21 AM

What cutoff do courts use? Do you know how long until they reports results?

jcaron2 · Jun 27, 2011, 11:12 AM

Not sure, unfortunately. My impression was that the cutoff depends on the lab doing the testing. I thought it was a simple yes/no, there's ETG present or there's not. That puts the cutoff at the minimum detection limit, which I think is around 100 ng/ml for typical LC-MS instrumentation. That's just a guess on my part though.

And I think it usually takes 3-5 days for the test results to come back. It probably depends a lot on the lab doing the testing. The test itself probably only takes a few minutes.

DrBill100 · Jul 30, 2011, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by ;

What cutoff do courts use? Do you know how long until they reports results?

Courts should use a cutoff of 500ng per the most recent "scientific(?)" advisory on this test.

However, if the various advisories, recommendations and warning issued in relation to this test were followed it would have been discontinued years ago. See Advisory, US Dept of Health and Human Services (2006, still in effect), or Skipper (2005) or US Dept of Labor or National Association of Drug Court Professionals, October 2006 (link now removed).

As to your question about reporting time. Very important. After you provide the urine sample, it may degrade, or it may multiply. But one way or another the EtG content of your urine sample will change, and very substantially, across a very short period of time.

It is well known and published in peer review journals that improper handling of urine samples can, and in a majority of cases will, result in "unintended medico-legal consequences."

Yet the test continues, ever increasing in use by the commercial drug testing community and concurrent acceptance and reliance upon same by the legal community. Go figure.