Does Probation Test for Alcohol?

What You Need to Know About Probation Drug Testing

When you’re on probation, you likely already know that you have a very fine line to walk with what you can do with your freedom. A drug test is going to be a mandatory part of sentencing for most people, but does probation test for alcohol? It’s legal and may not be a part of your substance abuse issue.

In most instances, your probation officer will order alcohol to be added to a five-panel or ten-panel test. They can use urine EtG testing to measure alcohol for up to five days from your last drink. Other cases may call for a hair follicle test that shows alcohol consumption for up to 90 days.

Catalina Behavioral Health can help you ensure that drug and alcohol testing comes back clear. While you are in our care, you won’t have the opportunity to drink or use drugs. Rehab could be the starting point for you to enter into recovery. Keep reading to learn more about alcohol testing ordered by the court system.

Drug and Alcohol Testing: What Are You Screened For?

Many people who are caught in the legal system will be subject to random testing to ensure that they comply with the terms of their probation. The necessity of abstaining from drug use is clear, but there may be a thornier issue when it comes to alcohol testing.

Alcohol isn’t an illegal substance. As long as you’re over the age of 21, there are no reasons why you can’t have a drink from time to time. But how will your probation officer feel about substance abuse, even if it is technically legal?

Here’s what you should know about your drug and alcohol testing as part of your probation conditions.

Will Court Ordered Drug Testing Include Alcohol?

Unfortunately, there are no clear rules when it comes to your drug and alcohol testing as part of your conditional probation. The specific terms of your probation indicate what you will be tested for when your number is called for a random screening.

Some people are only screened for drugs, while others may have been sentenced to avoid substance abuse altogether.

When it comes to your probation drug testing requirements, make sure you’re clear on the court orders. You can rest assured that the probation department knows exactly what you can and can’t have, so you may want to ask if you’ll be subject to alcohol testing.

In most instances, probation drug testing will order a five-panel or ten-panel test that covers the vast majority of illegal substances that you may be taking. They can add alcohol testing onto the panel so that they get a clearer picture of your substance use and can hold you accountable to the terms of your probation.

EtG Testing for Alcohol and Drugs

Most of the time, the terms of your probation drug testing will include EtG testing for alcohol use. This stands for ethyl glucuronide, and it’s a specific type of urine drug testing that gives more accurate test results than some other forms of testing like breathalyzers.

How does it work?

EtG testing can test for alcohol metabolites in the urine, specifically looking for ethyl glucuronide. The metabolites are present well after the alcohol has left the body, which means that your probation officer can see a bigger picture of your substance use. In fact, they are able to see alcohol consumption up to five days after your last drink.

Your EtG testing might show alcohol has a slightly longer detection window depending on how quickly your body metabolizes alcohol and how much you have to drink. If you are a slow metabolizer or have several drinks, it could show up for longer.

Urine Test Results for Alcohol

If a parole officer orders a urine test, it’ll cover most drugs that you’ve recently consumed. An alcoholic drink will show up on a urine panel within about one hour of your last drink. Of course, it also tends to dissipate from your urine faster than EtG tests and hair follicle drug testing.

Most test results will come back clear from alcohol within about twelve hours. This is good news if you weren’t supposed to be drinking, and it allows you to be in the clear. Make sure you know the risks of drinking while on probation and can fully accept those risks if you do decide to imbibe.

In many instances, these simple urine panels are the only thing probation officers will check for. They’re more cost-effective than EtG testing and have less tendency to yield false positives. An EtG test has a harder time distinguishing the difference between an alcoholic drink and common items that might have an alcohol component, such as mouthwashes.

Hair Follicle Drug Testing: Does It Show Alcohol?

Some people aren’t subject to the simple urine test. Instead, their probation terms might indicate they need more long-term evaluation via a hair follicle test. If your random drug testing includes hair follicle tests, then you should be aware of the risks of consuming alcohol.

EtG testing can also apply to hair follicles, giving a much wider detection period. Ethyl glucuronide can be present in hair follicles, blood, and even nail samples. All of these can show that you have a history of chronic alcohol use that should be monitored more closely by your probation officer.

These required drug tests will be able to show alcohol consumption for up to 90 days from your last drink. They’re less likely to show common items containing alcohol, like mouthwashes. It gives a much wider detection period.

With that in mind, it’s important to note that immediate alcohol use won’t show up in the hair follicle test. It takes about one week before drug and alcohol use surface in the hair, but then it will be present for the next three months or so. You might be able to pass an immediate test and fail the next one.

Blood Alcohol Concentration: What’s an Acceptable Level?

If you have certain violations on your record, such as a DUI, then you may not be allowed to have any blood alcohol concentration in your system, especially while driving. If you get pulled over for driving recklessly and an officer thinks you may be intoxicated, they might test immediately for BAC using a breathalyzer.

You’ll be hit with probation violations if your blood alcohol concentration is anything over 0.01 percent.

Not only is it dangerous to drive under the influence of alcohol, but you may not get as lucky to have a probation officer next time. Any subsequent offense could lead to steeper penalties, such as jail time or implementing an ignition interlock device that requires a breathalyzer every time you start your car.

When Will The Random Testing Monitoring System Call You?

Probation testing is based on a random system, ensuring that you can never see your drug test coming. This keeps you on your toes and encourages you to abstain from both drugs and alcohol. How do you know when you will be called for a urine sample, hair follicle test, or a blood test?

Most court-ordered drug testing uses a random color code system as part of probation requirements. Every person is assigned a color when they are sentenced. Then, they must call a designated phone line every morning to see which color is being called for the day. If your color matches, you must come in for random testing.

Your probation officer will be looking for you to come. Failure to comply could result in the revocation of your probation status.

What If You Take Prescribed or Other Drugs?

If you have a legitimate prescription from your doctor or psychiatrist for a medication that could surface on random drug testing, you’ll need to disclose it as soon as possible. Your probation requirements allow you to take prescribed drugs, but they need to know exactly what will show up on your panel when they run it.

This also means you need to be certain to submit a list of everything you take, including vitamins and other health supplements. Some of these can result in false positives that could interfere with the strict conditions of your probation drug testing.

Failing a drug test has serious consequences, so make sure that everything you take is above board. The courts may have grace for you once or twice if you take some extremely common supplements known for yielding false positives, but they won’t have endless grace for you when your color status gets called.

Meet Drug Testing Requirements with Catalina’s Help

When you’re subject to probation drug testing, it’s essential to remain clean and free from all types of substance abuse. If you don’t think you can do it on your own, the courts might encourage you to seek counseling and rehab. Not only does this provide a safe space for you to process sobriety, but it gives you the tools needed to maintain it long-term.

Catalina Behavioral Health offers residential and outpatient treatment to help you stay clean. Our experienced clinicians offer evidence-based treatments and holistic care options to give you the assistance you need to always pass your drug test with flying colors and no need to worry.

Let our enrollment team answer your questions about our programs. We can verify your insurance benefits in a quick and confidential call so that you can anticipate the cost of getting sober. Many insurance companies will cover rehab in full. Call us today to learn more about our programs!

References

1. McDonell, M. G., Skalisky, J., Leickly, E., McPherson, S., Battalio, S., Nepom, J. R., Srebnik, D., Roll, J., & Ries, R. K. (2015). Using ethyl glucuronide in urine to detect light and heavy drinking in alcohol dependent outpatients. Drug and alcohol dependence, 157, 184–187.
2. Hadland, S. E., & Levy, S. (2016). Objective Testing: Urine and Other Drug Tests. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 25(3), 549–565.
3. Palamar, J. J., & Salomone, A. (2023). On the challenges of hair testing to detect underreported substance use in research settings. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 49(1), 1–4.