What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for Opiates in the screening panel?

What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for Opiates in the screening panel?

• A. 1000 ng/mL
• B. 2000 ng/mL
• C. 500 ng/mL
• D. 3000 ng/mL

Answer: (B)

SAMHSA sets the initial opiates screening cutoff at 2,000 ng/mL in urine immunoassays. This level is chosen to reliably detect typical opioid use, especially morphine and codeine, while reducing false positives from incidental exposure or cross‑reactivity. If a specimen screens at or above this threshold, it proceeds to confirmatory testing (such as GC‑MS or LC‑MS/MS) to identify the specific opioids present and quantify them. The other listed values aren’t the standard SAMHSA screening cutoff for opiates because they would either miss common opioid use or unnecessarily flag low-level findings.

SAMHSA sets the initial opiates screening cutoff at 2,000 ng/mL in urine immunoassays. This level is chosen to reliably detect typical opioid use, especially morphine and codeine, while reducing false positives from incidental exposure or cross‑reactivity. If a specimen screens at or above this threshold, it proceeds to confirmatory testing (such as GC‑MS or LC‑MS/MS) to identify the specific opioids present and quantify them. The other listed values aren’t the standard SAMHSA screening cutoff for opiates because they would either miss common opioid use or unnecessarily flag low-level findings.