Hi all,

I am extremely worried, stupidly at fiesta recently after have a few too many beers I smoked a join with some people at the party. I would never or have never done this before but as i was drunk the little I made this mistake. I am an FO for a arge airline and I regularly fly to the united states I have never been randomly tested before by the FAA but am I wondering does the FAA conduct random drug tests on pilots incoming from foreign carriers? my airline very not a lot to random tests, but I think I will speak to my fleet chief and tell him what happenned as i am so worried, can anyone working for a foriegn carrier that flies inbound to the US share their experiences as wherther or not this thing happens and how often.

I apologise to professional aviators for shaming the profession.

 

They are going to be knocking on your door in three two

 

"Do you guys do random drug testing? Because if you do, I'm gonna need a 3 day notice."

 

Just when you think you've seen it all. Good night sir.

 

Twenty pages minimum on this one.

 

Urinary Elimination of 11-Nor-9-carboxy- 9-tetrahydrocannnabinol in Cannabis Users During Continuously Monitored Abstinence

Detectable up to 28 days; sometimes more, sometimes less. Time for some personal leave.

You can use the time to take an online class on impulse control and judgment. Nah, neither of those attributes are important to a pilot.

 

there's a troll about.

 

Carl

 

I don't think the post is a troll. Something like 38% of the US Population has smoked weed at some point. In Spain, it's actually 100% legal to grow your own and smoke it in private so I'm guessing it's going to be pretty prevalent at parties.

If the OP is being truthful, just smoked up that one time, and isn't a heavy user, he shouldn't have anything to worry about. That whole 28 days thing is for people who smoke all the time. THC is fat soluble, builds up in your fat and takes weeks to clear out. But the other way around, it also takes weeks to soak into your fat. One toke at a party is going to be in and out of your bloodstream as fast as your liver and kidneys can process it. It has a half-life of around 19 hours in your bloodstream so it should be at undetectable levels within a day or two.

If you are really worried, you can probably get an at-home pee test kit at your local pharmacy and see how it comes out.

I never heard of the FAA randomly grabbing foreign pilots for a pee test. Generally all random testing is part of your carrier's own approved drug program. Of course just because I never heard of it doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

 

FAR 120 applies to US FAR 121 and 135 air carriers and some other folks. A foreign airline falls under 129. The drug testing program is set up by each airline and approved by the FAA. The FAA does not conduct their own drug test of pilots. So the question would be does your airline's drug testing program allow testing in the US?