Employers and schools may require a 10-panel drug test as a condition of employment or acceptance. There are no federal laws prohibiting drug testing, though some states have laws limiting testing of employees who don't work in positions where drug use could present a safety hazard, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Identification
A 10-panel drug test screens for 10 drugs that are considered illegal or illicit. When you take a 10-panel drug test, it will screen your urine for recent use of amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, methaqualone, opiates, phencyclidine and propoxyphene, according to the United States Sports Academy's website, The Sport Journal. The 10-panel drug test may be given as a condition of employment, as a requirement for participating in certain programs or as a check for student and professional athletes.
Function
A 10-panel drug screen measures the presence of certain drugs in your urine. The test subject provides a urine sample, usually in a closely controlled environment. Your urine is then sent to a lab, where it's analyzed for drug metabolites---essentially the residue of drugs that remains in your system until they're completely eliminated through your urine. A 10-panel drug test result doesn't necessarily measure current drug use---a positive result doesn't mean you were using drugs at the time of the test, just that you've have used the drugs included on the panel in the recent past.
Misconceptions
A typical 10-panel drug test adds methadone and propoxyphene to the drugs tested in the 8-panel drug test, but it doesn't screen for all drugs. A 10-panel drug test doesn't show use of nicotine; hallucinogens like LSD, mushrooms, mescaline and peyote; inhalants like paint, glue or hairspray; anabolic steroids; ecstasy or hydrocodone.
Time Frame
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, drugs on a 10-panel drug screen have different detection windows that affect how long after use they show up on the test. Alcohol usually only shows up on a test for one to two hours; use of LSD shows up for about eight hours; heroin metabolites usually only register for 24 hours; amphetamine, methamphetamine, methadone and morphine use can be detected for about two days; and barbiturate, phencyclidine---also known as PCP---and cocaine use shows up for between two and 10 days. Marijuana use shows up for three or four days if the use is casual; chronic marijuana use registers on a 10-panel test for much longer.
Considerations
The results of a 10-panel drug screen are considered protected health information, according to the Department of Labor, which means you have to sign a release for the information to be shared with an outside party, such as an employer. Because it's a noninvasive test, there's no special preparation and no risk associated with the test.
