My son tested positive for cocaine = 9558 ng/ml, and
heroin = 282 ng/ml, and morphine = 25821 ng/ml.
Can someone interpret this for me, in layman's terms?

He abuses drugs? And not just one, Heroine and Morphine are some hard core drugs...not used casually, and cocaine is pretty bad in its own rite...(might be the the crack form but that remains unknown) but several. And as such he needs some seriously close supervision of what he does and where he goes.

In layman's terms it means your son is abusing illegal drugs. There is really no other way to put it. He popped hot.

The question really is... What is he going to do about it? What are you, as his parent, prepared to do about it?

In layman's terms your son is a junkie and needs immediate professional intervention and supervised follow up and testing.

Addiction Interventions | CRC Health Group (http://www.crchealth.com/find-a-treatment-center/alcohol-substance-abuse-treatment-programs/alcoholic_rehab/substance-abuse-articles/addiction-interventions/)

Here are some numbers, for you to use as guidelines for the testing done for employment, to make sure employees are not under the influence. They are generally considered "fair" in that they won't provide 'false positives'. Compare your son's numbers to the ones here and draw your own conclusions.

Cocaine Cutoff-Level 150 ng/ml
Morphone Cutoff-Level 2000 ng/mL (the cutoff level suggested by SAMHSA)

I'm far from an expert, but I would be very, very worried, if it were my child. I would be Googling "In patient detox" facilities outside of my state, if I were in your shoes.

Good luck to you both

Thank you all for your replies. I thought his numbers were out of sight. He's just completed a prison program called RSAT (Residential Substance Abuse Treatment) in the GA state prison system. He was in for 15 months. Clean for 15 months. He got out 1/28/16 and was using 2 weeks later. Last week he was drug tested by his prob ofcr and tested positive, and is not in jail, for the umpteenth time.
His older brother is out on the streets of Atlanta, using heroin.
My husband and I have put them both in rehabs, they have both OD'd 3 and 4 times, respectively. They have both been in prison and jail many times. They are only 26 and 28 years old. We hope they live. We are done.





Here are some numbers, for you to use as guidelines for the testing done for employment, to make sure employees are not under the influence. They are generally considered "fair" in that they won't provide 'false positives'. Compare your son's numbers to the ones here and draw your own conclusions.

Cocaine Cutoff-Level 150 ng/ml
Morphone Cutoff-Level 2000 ng/mL (the cutoff level suggested by SAMHSA)

I'm far from an expert, but I would be very, very worried, if it were my child. I would be Googling "In patient detox" facilities outside of my state, if I were in your shoes.

Good luck to you both

I am so sorry you are going through this. As parents, we feel hopeless when our grown children make bad choices. Unfortunately, drugs are one of the choices that cannot be supported by us parents.

While it's hard, near impossible sometimes, this is one time that you have to cut complete ties and all communication, and pray to whatever/whomever you pray to, that your children will be safe.

I am so sorry you are going through this. As parents, we feel hopeless when our grown children make bad choices. Unfortunately, drugs are one of the choices that cannot be supported by us parents.

While it's hard, near impossible sometimes, this is one time that you have to cut complete ties and all communication, and pray to whatever/whomever you pray to, that your children will be safe.


Thank you for your response. Cutting complete ties and all communication is the only thing we haven't done yet.

Thank you for your response. Cutting complete ties and all communication is the only thing we haven't done yet.
And you do realize that is the only cure to this problem, don't you? As children we learn that there are consequences to our actions. That carries over into adulthood. Unless and until you cut all ties, totally and completely, this behavior of drug addiction will continue. It's called enabling and, many times, requires counseling to overcome.

I am sorry for what is happening, to you child. Sadly it is just how how the system works, drug rehab, unless they want it, does no good.

After rehab, if they return to the same town, with the same frines, hanging out in the same places, they go back on it, about 99.999 percent of the time.

The PO may allow a second bad reading, or wait till he does something worst. Trouble is Georgia prisons are full, the Fulton county jail is full and the probation detention centers are full. So they revoke the worst offenders and wait till they have room often.