Understand What Drug Tests Will Detect Methadone
Maybe you’ve made that important first step to seek help for an opioid addiction. No matter where you are in the journey toward sobriety, you may not want to disclose to everyone you know that you’re going through methadone treatment, especially an employer. Will methadone show up on a drug test?
On standard drug tests, methadone doesn’t usually show up. If it’s requested on your screening, you might see positive results two and a half days later (blood tests), 72 hours later (urine tests), ten days later (saliva tests), and ninety days later (hair tests).
It’s worth noting that you do have protection for methadone use under clinical supervision in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Purpose Healing Center can help you start medication-assisted treatment with our continuum of care. From medical detox to outpatient care, we offer support at every stage of your recovery. Keep reading to learn more about how long methadone will stay in your system.
How Long Does Methadone Stay in Your System?
The question for many people struggling with opioid use disorder and using methadone to get clean is whether others will be able to identify their methadone use. You might be subjected to a random drug test in many instances, many of which are out of your control. For example, a random drug test at work could pop up without warning.
The good news is that methadone doesn’t usually show up on standard urine drug tests unless it is specifically requested. In part, this may be because you’re protected under the ADA for the use of methadone as treatment for OUD.
Still, you may need to ask the question: if it is requested, how long does methadone stay in your system?
Methadone Half-Life
Before we dive into how the different methods of methadone testing reveal its use, it’s important first to understand how the half-life of the drug works. Generally speaking, methadone can have a short half-life. If your metabolism is high and you’re taking a low dose of methadone, then you might see a half-life of just eight hours.
However, higher doses and slower metabolisms can stretch that half-life to over fifty hours.
It takes about five half-lives before a drug clears your system, but it might be visible on a drug test for even longer. Let’s take a closer look at specific methadone drug tests and when you could test positive.
Urine Drug Screening for Methadone Detection
One of the most common ways that employers and other professionals test for methadone is via urine tests. If you’re going through medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, you may want to get ahead of these tests and disclose your drug use.
However, you may be surprised at how little time it actually takes to clear methadone from urine. Urine won’t show your drug use if it’s been less than 24 hours since your methadone dose.
While it ultimately depends on how quickly methadone works its way out of your system, a urine test may only show a positive result for roughly 72 hours after the last dose. Those with slower metabolism might find that standard urine drug tests can show the synthetic opioid for up to one week.
Blood Tests and Their Results
Much like urine tests, blood tests have a relatively small detection window for methadone. Methadone testing via a blood sample can show up with a positive result as soon as three hours after the last dose when given orally.
From this point on, blood tests can reveal drug use for roughly two and a half days. This means that your synthetic opioid use will be out of your system faster than a urine test which could pop up with positive results for one full week in slow metabolizers.
Saliva Tests and Testing Windows
Saliva tests are almost on par with urine tests when it comes to their ability to detect methadone for a longer window. When swabbed for a random drug test, these tests can detect methadone within about ten minutes of a recent dose, but it also lingers in your system longer than any other test except for a hair test.
These tests can detect opiate drug use for up to ten days which can be problematic for someone who is using methadone maintenance and doesn’t want to disclose their use.
Hair Tests Show Long-Term Use of Medication-Assisted Treatment
You need to know a few things about hair tests and methadone treatment. First, it takes much longer for these tests to detect a recent methadone dose. In some cases, it can take up to two weeks before your most recent methadone use surfaces. This could be good news for some people who have recently had methadone treatment.
However, it also shows up for far longer on hair tests than it does on any other test. It takes up to ninety days for methadone use to clear from your hair.
Americans with Disabilities Act and Methadone Testing
While employers do have the right to issue standard drug tests whenever they want, there are limits to the circumstances under which they can terminate you. Opioid addiction is considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The ADA stipulates that employers and other people in positions of power can’t discriminate against you for an opioid use disorder.
This affords you some protection if you’re going about treatment. If you’re under the care of a treatment program and are taking one of the FDA-approved medications (methadone included), you can’t be fired from your position for having methadone in your system.
Other situations that could arise while in addiction treatment include healthcare programs that won’t see patients taking opioids. If you can prove that you’re under the care of a doctor who monitors your methadone use, it would be discrimination to deny you services under their umbrella.
Finding Addiction Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
Eventually, you’ll likely run into a situation where a drug test will be mandatory. When you’re mired in an opioid addiction, you won’t have much recourse when a positive result returns. It’s important to seek a program that has experience with substance use and can offer help for your withdrawal symptoms.
Purpose Healing Center can help you with your use of prescription medication and other opioids. We start with a medical detox program where we can make you more comfortable with your withdrawal symptoms while we figure out the best path forward. You can’t take both methadone and opioids.
From here, you may want to enroll in a residential treatment program to give you a safe space to start living your life sober. All of this can prove that you’re working on your OUD for an upcoming drug test. Plus, it allows us to start you on medication-assisted treatment that’s proven to work for your drug use.
We even offer outpatient care for those who need to return to their positions and families but still need the help of a medical team.
Let Purpose Healing Center Help You with Your Test Results
While we can’t take away a positive result on a drug test, we can give you the treatment you need to prove that you’re combatting your opioid addiction. With the help of a medical team surrounding you, there is protection under the ADA for you when you take methadone, which helps reduce withdrawal symptoms from opioids.
Purpose Healing Center offers a comprehensive treatment plan for each one of our clients. Whether you’re walking this road for the first time or the fifth, our team can help you achieve lasting recovery.
Reach out to our enrollment team today for a quick call to see how our program works and to verify your insurance benefits!
References
- Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: For Healthcare and Addiction Professionals, Policymakers, Patients, and Families: Updated 2021 [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2018. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 63.) Chapter 3B: Methadone. Available from:
- Hallare J, Gerriets V. Half Life. [Updated 2023 Jun 20]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from:
- Saxon A. J. (2020). Potential for Precision Medicine in Methadone Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder. Journal of addiction medicine, 14(5), 362–363.
- Drummer O. H. (2006). Drug testing in oral fluid. The Clinical biochemist. Reviews, 27(3), 147–159.
- U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d.-n). The Americans with disabilities act and the opioid crisis.
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