Question
Can HIV meds interfere with a drugs test?
1 July 2010. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Other tests, Recreational drugs, Supplements and herbs.
Apologies for asking what may be a silly question, I am wondering if being HIV positive and having being treated for Chlamydia a short time ago could affect the outcome of a urine drug test?
The reason for asking is that I been tested in the work place and returned a positive result for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the thing being I have not used or touched marijuana.
Any assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Being HIV positive and having being treated for chlamydia will not affect your drug test. However, there is a drug called Marinol (dronabinol) which contains THC. Marinol includes the active ingredient in marijuana and is sometimes prescribed to HIV positive people to increase appetite and stimulate weight gain. If you have been taking any medications to increase your appetite then you should check the label and report this to your employer as the cause for the positive result.
When the HIV drug efavirenz (Sustiva) was first introduced there were several reports that it resulted in false-positive results with some marijuana tests. If you are using efavirenz (or Atripla which contains efavirenz) there may be a chance this could happen, though I haven’t heard of this being a problem for a long time.
The SPC leaflet (Specific Product Characteristics) for efavirenz documents this as a problem with only one make of test: “False positive test results have only been observed with the CEDIA DAU Multi-Level THC assay, which is used for screening, and have not been observed with other cannabinoid assays tested including tests used for confirmation of positive results.”
There are tests which can be done which can measure the levels of THC in your blood. The concentrations of THC can then be used to distinguish active from passive use or prescription from illicit use. If your positive result is due to passive use (being around someone else who smokes marijuana) or prescriptive use you could ask your workplace to carry out this test.
I hope you manage to sort it out.
Best wishes.
Hi Nonkululeko.
Please see the above post.
I’m going for physical test n drug test for dcs in few days my concern is I’m on arv can it affects the result plz help
Hi John,
As the above post explains there is a possibility that you may have a false positive result. However, its not possible to say for sure if this will or not. Is there any chance that you could just tell them about your status and share with them the info that’s in this post?
I’m going for a pre employment drug test in a few days to come but I’m worried that my daily arv medication might interfere with the test. I’m currently taking a one daily pill that contains 600mg Efavirenz/200mg Emtricitabine/300gTenofovir at 21h00 every evening after meal. Please help me
Hi Alice,
What do you mean that your medication isn’t showing up in your system?
i have been on Clonazepam 1 mg for about 17 years and oxycodone 20mg for about a year. I have been drug screened many times and none of my medications show up. Why is this happening to me. I have also tested positive for THC which I understand that it can happen. Please help me to find out why my other medications don’t show up. Medication list: Clonazepam1mg, oxycodone 20mg, Omeprazole 20mg, Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg, Cyclobenzaprine HCL 10mg, Ezetimibe 10mg, Atripla, Oxycodone 20mg, over the counter Fish Oil 1000mg, and Potassium 99mg.Yes I know it is a lot of medication and YES I take them all as ordered. I was dropped by my Family Doctor for my medication not showing up in my system. Please help
Thanks for sharing your experience.
It should be noted however, that this won’t happen to everyone who is on Genvoya
Kevin…. Yes it can. I take Genvoya daily and tested positive for THC today 4-18-17. I’m bewildered about this because I DONT smoke weed and yet tested positive because of the Genvoya.
Hi Kevin,
Yes ARVs can cause some drug tests to give a false positive. Do you know what you’ve been tested for and what you may have failed? That is if you’ve failed a drugs test.
Possible drugs that can be tested are the following:
cocaine, marijuana, PCP, amphetamines, opiates, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, methadone, propoxyphene, & Quaaludes.
Can Genvoya cause a positive in drug test? (10 panel drug test)