A
variety of different tests are used for drug testing. However,
many of them can give a false positive result, in the sense that
ephedra use will show up as drug use. (In particular, ephedra
use may generate a positive finding for methamphetamine.)
One
active component in ephedra is ephedrinewhich has pharmaceutical
properties and is in the same class of compounds as many other
drugs and natural stimulants. As such, it will be metabolized
similarly to these other substances.
Much
drug testing checks for the presence of drug metabolites as a
measure or indicator of ingested drug. By the time one tests blood
or urine for the drug, the body has metabolized most of it, so
many tests are directed towards testing for metabolites.
There
may also be other components in ephedra with metabolites or parent
structures that are similar to drugs taken for pleasure or sports
and would therefore test positive. Like other botanical products,
ephedra contains scores, perhaps even hundreds of different chemical
compounds.
Drug
tests are usually designed for ease of use and are broad-based,
so that a single test would detect many different drugs. Thus,
it can be difficult to differentiate between an actual drug/pharmaceutical
or a natural product/supplement like ephedra.
Such
differentiation can usually be done by further, intensive testing
that is targeted for a particular unique metabolite or residual
drug itself.