Recognizing that alcohol and drug use in the workplace is a significant social
and economic problem, various forms of drug testing have been branded as
the solutions to a safer and more productive work environment. In this
determined drive to find a userfriendly and accurate substance use detection
strategy, a variety of drug testing procedures have been developed and used
with varying consistently across industry groups. One such method, trace
detection technology, however, has been employed in spite of the paucity of
empirical evidence to validate its use as a stand-alone screening system for
drug detection. Furthermore, research on the impact of false positive results
of trace detection technology is extremely limited amidst a climate in many
locales in which it is regularly used. With trace detection technology being
used extensively in both the private and public sectors for drug screening
purposes, the objectives of this research were twofold: To examine the
efficacy of trace detection technology as a stand alone method of drug
testing by exploring the lived experiences of commercial truck drivers who
have experienced false-positive drug test results firsthand; and to explore the
emotional and physical impact of false-positive test results generated by this
technology on the individual commercial truck driver. The results from this
research have broad implications for general workforces subject to periodic or
scheduled drug screening, for law enforcement professionals who rely on a
detection strategy that can produce false positive outcomes, for the legal
community seeking understanding of this technology application, and for
social science professionals who seek to pursue a provocative research topic.