# Friend got fired as job of substitute teacher for a "false Positive" drug test, any truth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978 "2025-10-15T01:01:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/1 "2025-10-15T01:01:40Z")
Curious to see if he’s lying to me, though I’ll keep it vague just in case. Friend worked as a substitute teacher at a California public school for 14 years but iirc he’s not part of a Union. He randomly got drug tested a month ago (it was a standard random test) and it popped as a positive for meth. Now he claims it was for a weight loss drug that was doctor prescribed and he is fighting it, but he claims even a false positive drug test with a medical excuse means he automatically gets fired from his teaching job and is unable to reapply for an entire year so now he’s out of a teaching job for an entire year. I’m legitimately curious if he’s telling me the truth, mainly because he’s now also heavily implying he needs a couple thousand to help survive the month and I REALLY don’t want to give him any money if it was a legitimate firing for a drug addiction issue because I’m been in this situation in the past (inadvertantly feeding somebody’s drug habit via loans that were never repaid) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/2 "2025-10-15T01:09:48Z")
That’s very hard to say. I suggest keeping your money in your pocket. Tho’, there is something to the fact he was auto-fired. I think some/most schools do this. Either way he needs to find employment and deal with it. I wouldn’t loan him money. That’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/3 "2025-10-15T01:15:02Z")
Surely if this was true there’d be some law or regulation on the books to support this claim. Honestly it sounds like bullshit, but who’s spewing it is hard to say. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/4 "2025-10-15T01:26:44Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Now he claims it was for a weight loss drug that was doctor prescribed and he is fighting it, but he claims even a false positive drug test with a medical excuse means he automatically gets fired from his teaching job and is unable to reapply for an entire year so now he’s out of a teaching job for an entire year. I don’t believe it. The way a drug screen for employment works, even for random screenings, is the results are screened by the medical review officer (MRO). If there’s anything positive, the MRO contacts the employee and asks if there’s any medical reasons that explains the results. For the most part, a legitimate medical reason will be a prescription. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/5 "2025-10-15T01:37:19Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Surely if this was true there’d be some law or regulation on the books to support this claim. Don’t count on that, nor that employers are willing to entertain challenges to the validity of positive illicit drug tests. And it is possible that a number of prescription medications and unregulated supplements could generate a false positive indication for methamphetamine/amphetamine: > **[What medications can cause a false positive for methamphetamines?](https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/medications-false-positive-methamphetamines-3566578/)** > > Official answer: A false-positive test result means that your drug test shows the presence of a medication or substance that you... If there is a legitimate cross-reaction (I’m assuming phentermine since it is the only weight loss drug in the list of the link above) then the o.p.’s friend should be able to present his prescription and request a medical review by the physician who reviews and certifies the results ninja’d by @Odesio] or at least demand confirmatory testing for the specific substance. If the (hypothetically) false positive was due to an unregulated supplement…he’s probably screwed. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/6 "2025-10-15T02:55:19Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > mainly because he’s now also heavily implying he needs a couple thousand to help survive the month This right here is the key to the whole thing. Also, some ADHD meds are amphetamine or methamphetamine. It’s not rational that a teacher could be fired for it without having the opportunity to show the Rx for it, considering how many of their students are prescribed it. You’re being manipulated. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/7 "2025-10-15T03:27:37Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > he claims even a false positive drug test with a medical excuse means he automatically gets fired from his teaching job This seems like the only part of this that has a factual answer. Is that in fact a typical policy for schools in America? No idea what it is though. It seems plausible, but it would depend on the school system in question. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/8 "2025-10-15T03:37:08Z")
Typically teachers would not be drug tested unless there is a reason to. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/9 "2025-10-15T11:41:40Z")
I’m not suggesting the OP reveal the info to us, but everything about this story depends on the details of the school district employing the teacher. And whether & how California law requires drug testing for teachers and/or protects the rights of testees. If just the “I was drug tested” part is true, then it’s certain the district has some written policy. Which they probably mostly follow. And which _might_ be publicly available. Which policy will indicate whether a) teachers are subject to random screening, b) how positive results are reviewed, and c) what happens to teachers awaiting the results of a review. I worked 35 years in a non-teaching union job with random drug screening. A positive test was cause for immediate removal from duties, which also meant an immediate cessation of earnings. Followed by an MRO review as described upthread. After a weekish, if cleared you’d be returned to work, minus whatever earnings you lost for work you hadn’t performed. If not cleared, you’d be unceremoniously fired. Any further appeals would be through a wrongful termination action pursued first through the union grievance procedures and later the courts. But all that was simply a creature of the laws relating to DOT covered employee drug testing, my specific employer’s policies, and my specific union contract. If the OP cares to know the exact truth, start by searching CA law and the website(s) of the school district. All else is guesswork. Side matter: It’s unclear to me how much a substitute teacher, as opposed to a regular everyday teacher, is a full up employee of the district, as opposed to being, say a 1099 contractor or some sort of casual part-time no-benefits worker. The upshot being that there may be legal or policy protections that apply to full-timers that are withheld from substitutes. Again the generalities of other folks’ collective experience (including mine) is indicative, but only the personnel policies of the actual specific district will be controlling. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/10 "2025-10-15T12:11:28Z")
There could be truth to it because it has happened to some athletes, notably tennis players. Drugs/medications/supplements that, overall, are quite acceptable can contain an ingredient that is on the banned list. It only takes one. Certain legal, over-the-counter drugs like pseudoephedrine and ephedrine were historically common precursors used to make methamphetamine. So those perfectly legal drugs would not be acceptable on a drug test. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/11 "2025-10-15T13:35:56Z")
I would guess that substitute teachers have very few protections. I’m not surprised that they would fire someone for relatively minor things. I was under the impression that they weren’t actual employees. I thought the school district would call when they needed one and that’s the only time they got paid. If someone failed a drug test, I’d guess they’d remove that person from the program without doing much follow-up. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/12 "2025-10-15T13:54:19Z")
Yeah, it’s gig work. He wouldn’t have been fired; he would have been disqualified. Job protections for that kind of work is virtually nil. When I was a teacher in California, my union wouldn’t have allowed anything remotely like a random drug test for their members (all regularly certified and employed techers). ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/13 "2025-10-15T13:54:25Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I was under the impression that they weren’t actual employees. Correct. In our system, at least, they are self-employed. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/14 "2025-10-15T14:03:28Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > he claims it was for a weight loss drug that was doctor prescribed FWIW, Google found this for “weight loss” “meth” “false positive”: > **[Will Phentermine Show on a Drug Test?](https://musetreatment.com/blog/will-phentermine-show-on-a-drug-test/)** > > Call Muse Treatment Center at 800-426-1818 to understand Will Phentermine Show On A Drug Test and get treatment, > Phentermine was initially approved for medical use in 1959. It was meant to act as an appetite suppressant that, alongside proper diet and regular exercise, would assist those struggling with obesity. > Will phentermine show up on a drug test? Yes. However, if medical documentation of the drug’s use is provided, it can be presented, and if needed, the false positive may or may not be negated. > In the end, the short and simple answer to our question is “no,” but it will produce a false-positive confirmation for amphetamines. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/15 "2025-10-15T15:13:36Z")
The point is, whether the OP should loan this person money. I still say “no”. First, I’ll never understand friends asking friends for cash loans. Good way to not have a friend. Second, the person, by their own admission was fired for something. The friend can say they popped the drug test by some prescribed medicine all day long. If that’s true, as soon as they produce the ‘script, they’d presumably be reinstated. Third, I think there are agencies that manage substitute teachers which might have their own employee requirements. Including random drug testing. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/16 "2025-10-15T15:28:35Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > he’s now also heavily implying he needs a couple thousand to help survive the month A couple of thousand is a lot to ask of a friend. Maybe a couple of hundred is okay if it’s a good friend. A couple of thousand is a lot of money. And likely his money woes won’t be over at the end of the month, so next month will probably be more of the same. He probably needs to think about how he can become financially stable without depending on his friends to keep him afloat. For the short term, he could consider setting up a gofundme. That way people can give whatever they want and can afford. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/17 "2025-10-15T15:40:01Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Friend worked as a substitute teacher at a California public school for 14 years but iirc he’s not part of a Union. As a note, under Federal Law a non-union public school teacher is still protected by their collective bargaining agreement. It’s just that union members may have more protection. Also, random drug testing after hire is extremely limited (to be practically non-existent) in California. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/18 "2025-10-15T15:54:27Z")
nm, faulty cite ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/19 "2025-10-15T17:40:40Z")
What I find odd is that he got fired for alleged drug use, even though he has a prescription BUT the district will let him reapply next year. Seems to me they either would permanently ban him or accept the test gave a false positive. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978/20 "2025-10-15T18:02:55Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > he needs a couple thousand to help survive the month Let’s say you lend him the money. What’s he going to do after he spends it all? Is he going to ask you for another $2K? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-got-fired-as-job-of-substitute-teacher-for-a-false-positive-drug-test-any-truth/1023978.md?page=2)