Last night I had 6 beers between 8pm and 9pm (Friday night). I have my first meeting with my probation officer at 10:15 Tuesday morning. I have not been told what I am going to be tested for, or if I am going to even be tested, but I have the following questions regarding the possibility of ETG testing...


1. From 9pm Friday to 10:15 am Tuesday there will be roughly 82 hours of abstinence. Am I at any risk to fail this test?

2. If I am on probation for a drug offense, what is the chance that I will even be ETG tested? I am on probation in a large city, so I assume they save the ETG testing for the alcohol-related offenses... I could be wrong, however.

3. I know about the various substances that contain ethanol and can trigger the ETG test. Are the probation officers required to tell you to refrain from consuming or using products that contain ethanol, so as to not set off the test? It seems that if they were not to tell someone not to use hand sanitizer, then they did, and subsequently failed an ETG test it would not be fair to haul them off to jail.


Thanks in advance and have a nice night,

TJ

Alcohol usually leaves the system within 24 hours. EtG tests can measure alcohol consumption within 80 hours AFTER the first 24 hours of detox. So in other words, EtG is effective within 3 to 4 days after consuming alcohol. Also, the use of mouthwash or hand sanitizer wouldn't work as a false report. It is true that an EtG test can find a measurable amount of ethanol from incidental alcohol, but if EtG is detected in excess of 250 ng/mL, then it is a strong indicator that you consumed alcohol. So that won't work. If they do test though, you should be fine. Just drink a lot of water and I wouldn't worry about it. Try not to violate probation though. You can't get away with everything.

Sorry but I believe your answer to be incorrect.

Thanks anyway.