What Causes False Positive For Methamphetamine In A Drug Test?

Posted on Wed, 27 Aug 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 Answered on

Fri, 12 Sep 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : im on lithium carbonate 300 mg capsles and i took a mouth swab drug test and the results came back positive for meth..could the lithium b causing a false positive for meth? ive never done meth before..i used to have an opiate problem and i also take suboxone 12 mg strips..could either of these cause a false positive?

Answered by Dr. Abhishek Kapoor (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Suboxone could lead to false positive

Detailed Answer:
HI
Thanks for using healthcare magic. I, Dr Abhishek Kapoor, would help you in this query.

There are lot of drugs that could lead to false positive meth test, that include, Amantadine, Brompheniramine, Pseudoephedrine, Ranitidine, Thioridazine, Trazodone, Trimethobenzamide, Promethazine, buprenorphine etc. In your case, buprenorphine(suboxone) could be the reason for false positive meth test. In mouth swab test, chances of getting false positive with drug will be more that absorbs sublingually. Suboxone absorbs sublingually, so that could be the culprit in your case. Better to go to hair test. That would give you right result.

In case, you have more query, you can ask.

Regards
Dr. Abhishek Kapoor
Psychiatrist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar