Ask a Stoner: Do Employers Drug Test for Magic Mushrooms?

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Dear Stoner: I just moved here and have already enjoyed Colorado's newfound freedoms involving magic mushrooms. Should I be worried about that showing up on drug tests as I apply for jobs?
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Dear Panda: Unless you're applying for some ultra-classified or important job, not really. The most common drug test used by employers is a five-panel urinalysis test, which flags cocaine, opiates, amphetamines (meth), phencyclidine (PCP) and, for some reason, THC (cannabis). There are eight-, ten- and twelve-panel tests as well, but they're too expensive for most workplace drug tests, and even the vast majority of twelve-panel tests don't check for psilocybin (the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms).

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Flickr/Charles de Mille-Isles

Employers are mostly concerned about the use of popular street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and meth. While chemical compounds in those drugs can be mixed with party psychedelics like ketamine or MDMA, you won't have to worry about that with natural psychedelic substances like mushroom psilocybin and LSD — and those don't stay in blood or urine for longer than a couple of days, anyway. So enjoy those Red Rocks shows to the full extent, my friend. The only legal substance out here still keeping people unemployed is weed.

Send questions to [email protected].