FAA Substance Abuse, Drug Testing

FAA Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

If you are prescribed prescription medication that has the potential for abuse, you should know that the FAA has strict standards around airmen who have a past history of abuse or the use of certain drugs and may require additional documentation and testing to prove the monitoring is not required.

This is why it’s incredibly important to be fully transparent when you are applying for your medical certification, as it may come back to haunt you in later years if the FAA finds you to have been untruthful on your applications.

For instance, if you have not yet been cleared with the FAA, you may be required to submit documentation that covers:

• The primary drug you used
• Any additional drugs that were used during an airman’s lifetime (must mention marijuana even if it was used in a state where it is legalized, also including any other illicit substances)
• You must describe for each drug: how much you used, how often, the setting where you used the drug, and dates started/stopped
• Describe your treatment program, if you attended one
• What have been the adverse effects of using this drug?

To obtain a letter of eligibility clearing you to be able to earn your certifications, you must be fully truthful with the FAA about your past drug use. Of course, it helps if you attended a treatment program, so describe that if you are able to.

There are also monitoring actions that the FAA may take if they decide that you are at-risk for using drugs while on the job. If you have a history of alcohol dependency, for instance, there is a certain FAA process you must go through to ensure that your dependency has ended and you are safe to work in the aviation industry.

Gathering together all of this evidence is not easy, but with an aviation attorney guiding you through the process, it becomes much easier to collect the right information that will allow you to be able to earn your pilot certification. This strict process was put in place for a reason, as flying an airplane while under the influence of drugs or alcohol can have extremely deadly consequences.

Contact Yulia Vangorodska, Esq. today if you are having trouble working through all of the needed documentation and certification to ensure your past does not affect your future career goals and ambitions. You should not have to pay for drug addiction for the rest of your life, even if you made mistakes in the past that you are unable to take back.

Call today to schedule your free introduction to Vangorodska and you will be flying much sooner than you think. He is not only a lawyer but also a peer of yours.