Failed drug test?

[ray123]

What is the name of your state? Mississippi

My ex-husband failed one of his drug test. For one year he had to submitt to 12 drug tests. He also can only visit with my son every other Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm. If he passed all 12 drug tests within a one year period our previous custody agreement would go back to normal. My son would be able to resume overnight visits and he would receive him for 50% of the time during the summer(previous custody agreement). Now that he failed what will happen legally? What should I expect? What should I do?

 

[waitinMd]

if he was court ordered to take 12 drug tests and the order states the visitation was to revert back to the previous order upon completing the drug tests, then he is in contempt and you have to file charges on him.

The judge could do several things to him.... he will probably have his drug testing extended, but no one can tell you that for sure.

 

[ray123]

If he had to take drug tests for a year and could not pass within that period, Could it be possible that I get the current visitation order extended for another year. I also would like him to get serious help and enter a drug rehab before he dies from his drug usage! But I don't want him to half ass the rehab and come out after 1 month. He needs at least 6 months to a year of serious rehab.

 

[waitinMd]

you can't provide a diagnosis.... you can "ask" to extend it a year, but the judge may not do that.

In my case, the judge completely suspended all visitation until my ex went through rehab and proved she was clean. She hasn't finished yet.... so I don't know what will happen.

It depends on the judge.... was it urine drug tests, or hair follicle?

file contempt.

 

[LdiJ]

If he had to take drug tests for a year and could not pass within that period, Could it be possible that I get the current visitation order extended for another year. I also would like him to get serious help and enter a drug rehab before he dies from his drug usage! But I don't want him to half ass the rehab and come out after 1 month. He needs at least 6 months to a year of serious rehab.

That kind of rehab isn't going to happen unless HE seriously wants it. You likely will be able to get the current order extended. I can't say for how long, that will depend on how the judge feels about things, and the legal history of your case.

 

[OhReally?]

I would also like to offer another option -- I do not think filing for contempt is the proper way to go about this. What would you be accomplishing by filing contempt? Not much, IMO.
He's already being "punished" by having restrictions during this time, if you think about it.

I think a more appropriate and effective step would be to file for an extention of the current order -- not for another year, but maybe in 3-4 months and request additional testing IF he passes the tests in the extended period. I also think this would look better upon you in Court rather than going the contempt route. That doesn't mean the Judge won't give him a verbal beatdown either -- and/or implementing additional restrictions.

 

[ray123]

To answer some questions, he is ordered to take a 12 panel urine test. I don't think extending the order to just an additional 3-4 months will resolve the problem because it took him 10 months to fail the current drug test. If it is extended for just 3-4 months he would pass those tests standing on his head. I also feel if he can't quit drugs for my son for 1 year then he is not deserving of having any of his kids! My husband knew how important it was to my son that he pass these tests but yet he chose the drugs rather then my son. This has been an issue for 8 years now and he is yet to quit the drugs.

 

[waitinMd]

I would see if OhioGal can help you out.... her expertise with motions and extensions far exceeds anyone who has answered you thus far!

My atty filed a motion for contempt and in the motion asked that visitation stay supervised until X did certain stipulations.... after a few contempt motions, the judge suspended...

The 12 panel drug test is fairly easy to pass, especially if he KNOWS when he has to take them. Most of the drugs tested in a 12 panel drug test only test for 3 to 5 days! And some labs do not test for Redi clean, which can mess up the test. Can a hair follicle test check the drug he is abusing? HFT can detect drugs in the hair for a long period of time, but only are considered foolproof for the 90 days...

You can get drug charts at several of the labs, such as http://www.friendslab.com/drugdete.html

 

[Ohiogal]

Make a motion that since your ex failed one of the drug tests that the tests need to be random at your request and visitation remains as it is. If the court decides to increase it, ask that he still submit to random tests and upon the first dirty random test that it reverts to supervised only.

 

[ray123]

Thanks for the advice. Ohio stated visitation remains as is. Does she mean as it currently is? Every other Sat+Sun from 9am-5pm with no overnight visits. The drug test were random but I discovered that I was setting a pattern. I would order the drug test for the 15th of each month. I read that marijuana stays in your system for at least 30 days so I thought giving it to him in the middle of the month would allow me to detect if he was smoking. So I became predictable with the test and did not realize it. The one he failed I gave it to him on the 1st of the month.

 

[waitinMd]

she said file the motion to 'state', can't predict what the judge will order.

so he is smoking pot??

you could ask for HFT instead of urine.... unless there are other drugs involved that HFT won't cover... or ask for both, I asked for both it was ordered.

 

[escape2paradise]

Dad has likely been using all along. I don't know if you tried or not, but you should have requested hair follicles instead of UA's. Drug abusers can easily alter the results of a UA and most of them know this. A follicle test is much harder to cheat. You might see claims all over the internet, but those shampoos don't work. A follicle test costs a little more, but when you consider that it only has to be done once for every 90 days vs once a month, it is very comparable to the cost of a UA. Also, it does not have to be a random test to be accurate.

I am going through a similar situation with my X, only we don't have a final order yet. The GAL has requested repeatedly for X to take a follicle and he has refused to do so for the last 8 mos.

According to my attorney when a drug test is failed here, the court will generally order a drug and alcohol evaluation and then court ordered treatment. It can't hurt for you to ask that dad get some help. If he is truly an abuser for so many years, as you state, the only chance he really has of getting sober is a treatment program. It is highly unlikely dad will all of a sudden get sober by himself, as you've seen by his last test result.

 

[ray123]

What does GAL stand for and what do they do? I agree about the hair follicle test. Unfortunately my ex insist that he does not have a drug problem which makes it harder for him to seek treatment because of self denial. I'm also concerned with his other 2 children that live with him while he is living reckless. What can I do regarding the safety of all the children? Should I take a copy of the drug test to OCS? Would they be helpfull in any way? I know the other children are not mine but I'm so scared if I do not take any action something will happen to them. I could never forgive myself if that happened!

 

[waitinMd]

Once again OhioGal can answer the "gal" part of your question.... or you can "google" it.

Guardian ad Litem - A Child's Advocate in Court

A gal may also investigate the other children living in the house. Turning him into social services is a hard call to make... you could call and talk to them about what kind of help they could offer him before you made that decision, my state didn't care if Mom was taking drugs.

Who does Dad live with? He has custody of two other children all by himself?

 

[NSA4answers]

If he had to take drug tests for a year and could not pass within that period, Could it be possible that I get the current visitation order extended for another year. I also would like him to get serious help and enter a drug rehab before he dies from his drug usage! But I don't want him to half ass the rehab and come out after 1 month. He needs at least 6 months to a year of serious rehab.

the problem with forced rehab is that many people who go into it because they are court ordered relapse once they are out. With drug abuse he needs to reach his bottom before he will stop. His bottom isn't necessarily the same as what you would consider it to be. You might see losing your son as a reason to straighten out your life while he may not. You may think that losing visitation with his son will clean him up but he may need a lot yet still to reach HIS rock bottom. He could go into an inpatient program for 6 months to a year and come out and still use again if HE is not ready to be there.

You need to make sure that your son is safe when he is with him, that is the best you can do. You can request that the temp visitation schedule be continued, you could even request that it be modified even still.