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Sunday, March 27, 2011 cleopatra asks

Q: can a asthma inhaler show up as a dirty drug test for a probation officer. If tested by urin?

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Rick Frea, Health Pro
3/29/11 10:17am

According to materials I have read, Albuterol can register false positives on alcohol Breathalyzer tests. Some of the reasonings behind how this occurs is complicated to understand, but this post here explains it pretty well. If you are using an Albuterol inhaler, and you get pulled over, you should tell the officer you just used an asthma inhaler and tell him that you request a blood alcohol test. To read something a bit more complicated, you can read this court ruling.  Other than that, I have not read anything about any asthma inhalers showing up in blod or urine tests, so you should be fine.  Just make sure you note the medicines you take to the officer. 

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By cleopatra— Last Modified: 03/29/11, First Published: 03/27/11