San Diego Reference Laboratory is licensed and fulfills the requirements for the State of California for the licensing of Methadone Laboratories in accordance with the provisions of the California Health and Safety Code and by the regulations contained in the California Code of Regulations, Title 17. The sample requirement is 45mL. of urine that is submitted in the approved container supplied by San Diego Reference Laboratory. The urine collection procedure is provided in writing to the facility prior to submission to the laboratory for testing. The samples are tracked throughout the complete testing process with a unique barcode number.

The initial screening procedure is performed on fully automated instrumentation utilizing immunoassay methodology. The testing for Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, Morphine, Codeine, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepine, Cocaine, Phencyclidine, THC, Methadone and Methadone Metabolite (EDDP) are based on using specific antibodies for the determination of the presence of the drug. The screening test for Ethyl Alcohol is an enzymatic reaction that measures the change in absorbance based on the concentration of ethyl alcohol.

Urine samples that screen positive for a drug are sent to a second confirmation testing location where the sample is tested using a method of testing that is different from the methods used for screening. Depending on the drug that is to be tested, the confirmation testing is performed by either thin-layer chromatography (TLC) or gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS).