This is going to be a long one, so sorry about that. I have the attention span of a 3-month old puppy, so I try to keep my posts short.
I guess I should preface this post by saying I don’t do drugs… not even in my craaaaazy college days.
So, I was a little surprised when I received my new-hire paperwork that New Company required a drug test – not your standard pee-in-a-cup drug test…. a hair sample drug test.
I guess I should have done some research beforehand because I figured they would pluck out a couple of strands from the top of my head and I’d be done. Nope! That’s most definitely NOT how it all went down.
When I went into the clinic, the lady was super nice. We were chatting and at the end of the conversation she said, “OK now, don’t freak out on me!”
I didn’t say anything but I thought “huh? freak out? Is this going to hurt?!”
Instead of the one or two hairs that I thought would be plucked, an entire section of hair (about an INCH LONG) was CUT OFF super close to the scalp. The little section is well hidden on the lower part of my head about an inch or so from my neck, but I have to ask:
“WHAT THE HELL?!?!”
Was it absolutely vital to take that much of my gorgeous, healthy hair?! I didn’t freak out at first. I waited until I left the clinic. I sent my hair stylist a frantic message and told her the story and begged for a super miracle that would help me grow my hair back super fast…. so I’ll be taking biotin supplements until it’s all figured out and hope for the best.
Like I mentioned, the area is totally undetectable, but the fact that I know it’s there is driving me absolute bonkers. I hope like heck this job is worth that 1-inch chunk of hair!
After getting home, I did a Google search and found that apparently hair sample tests are done to detect super hard-core drugs… I guess it leaves residue on the scalp or the hair or something. No wonder Britney said “screw it” and shaved her head before a chunk was taken of her locks.
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Ouch! I tend to keep my hair really short, almost military style. I wonder how they’d go about that if I was being tested.
I wondered that too. The “research” I did online said that they cut it so close to the scalp b/c that’s where the most recent drug residue stuff is and it becomes part of the hair as the hair grows out, so they can test up to 90 days back, or even longer depending on how long the strand of hair is.
I’m not even sure how that would work with someone with a super short hair cut.
That’s a lot of hair to remove for the test! At least they took it from the back…
Yea – it’s the back, towards the bottom and like I said, really well-hidden, but geez!
Apparently the “normal” is 1.5 inches for a test sample (at least that’s what the random website with info said)
OMGoodness. That is nuts. I don’t think I could have handled that craziness. Seriously. Gah.
I have never heard of this before, and I would’ve COMPLETELY freaked out and refused, especially knowing I’d never done a drug in my life (as I haven’t either). Not my hair. Nope. No way.
I’m beginning to wonder if New Company does this on purpose as a form of ‘hazing’… seeing how far ppl will go to get the job.. haha. That would be so evil!
Good for your for not freaking out. I would have 1) been SCREAMING, “WTF did you just do to my hair?”, 2) Punched her in the face, or 3) wept buckets of tears and passed out.
I would have turned round and walked out… but I guess she (the nurse) did it without explaining.
Bless you… I hope the job was worth it x
Love your bit about having the attention span of a puppy!
In the UK, I don’t think we get drug tested for ANY job – which sucks because it would clean up our society if there were consequences to drug taking!
[...] candidates (and they picked you!), scheduling interviews, scheduling background checks, setting up drug tests in which they chop off a chunk of your hair, etc etc. It’s nice to know your work and effort is appreciated and that’s exactly [...]
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