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The NIDA 5

The federal government guidelines  under the direction of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA require that companies who use professional drivers test them for the presence of certain drugs. These tests check for five specific drug groups:

1. Cannabinoids (marijuana, hashish)
2. Cocaine (cocaine, crack, benzoylecognine)
3. Amphetamines (amphetamines, methamphetamine, speed)
4. Opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine)
5. Phencyclidine (PCP)

While NIDA guidelines only allow labs to report positives for the "NIDA 5" on their official NIDA tests, many drug testing labs also offer benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Restoril) and barbiturates in other drug panels (a "panel" is a predetermined list of tests to run). Ecstacy (MDMA) may or may not be specifically tested for, but due to its structural similarity with methamphetamine (MDMA stands for methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine), will result in a positive result for amphetamines on many screening tests. The confirmation test  can tell the difference between methamphetamine and ecstacy, and in the absence of detectable amounts of methamphetamine in the sample, the lab will either report the sample as negative or report it as positive for MDMA. What the lab reports to the client depends upon whether MDMA was included in the panel as something to be tested for.

Gamma-hydroxy-butyrate (GHB) was not routinely tested for in the early 1990s, but due to increasing use, some labs have added it as an optional test. GHB is rare in pre-employment screening, but is commonly checked for in suspected cases of drug overdose, date rape, and post-mortem toxicology tests. Ketamine (Special K) may or may not be tested for, depending upon the preferences of the entity paying for the test, though testing for it is uncommon. In general, the greater the number of drugs tested for, the higher the price of the test, so many employers stick to the NIDA 5 for financial reasons.

Hallucinogens other than cannabis and PCP, such as mushrooms, LSD, and peyote are rarely tested for..