Tag #Poppy Seeds

How does the practice of routine drug testing in hospitals impact families, particularly considering the time delay between initial positive tests and confirmatory results?

Hospitals routinely drug test pregnant patients, a practice stemming from the 1980s and continuing amid the opioid crisis. Positive results, even false positives like Katie's from poppy seeds, often trigger mandatory reporting to child welfare agencies in at least 27 states. This leads to stressful investigations and potential family separation, despite the availability of confirmatory tests.