What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for Cocaine in the screening panel?

What is the typical SAMHSA cutoff for Cocaine in the screening panel?

• A. 150 ng/mL
• B. 300 ng/mL
• C. 1000 ng/mL
• D. 500 ng/mL

Answer: (B)

In SAMHSA-screened urine drug testing, the cutoff sets what the immunoassay considers a presumptive positive. For cocaine, the typical screening threshold is 300 ng/mL. This level helps guard against false positives by reducing cross-reactivity from trace exposures, while still catching meaningful cocaine use that requires confirmation.

When a specimen screens positive, a more specific confirmatory test, usually GC-MS or LC-MS/MS, is performed. The confirmatory method targets benzoylecgonine (the cocaine metabolite) and uses a lower threshold to verify the result, providing a definitive positive. The 300 ng/mL screening cutoff is used to determine which samples move forward for that confirmatory step.