What Happens After a 1st Failed Drug Test on Probation?

Getting Help to Avoid Incarceration for Substance Use

Unfortunately, the reality of substance use is that relapses can happen from time to time. The important thing is that you get back up and keep trying to live your life in recovery. There is a more serious risk if you face a failed drug test on probation.

With this being said, what happens after a 1st failed drug test on probation? Whether you have already gotten the results, or are waiting nervously, our guide is here to help!

Your probation officer will not be happy to learn that you relapsed, and it can be a serious wake-up call for those who are on the slippery slope back to drug use. Here is what you need to know about what happens and how to get back on track with the help of the support programs offered by Icarus Behavioral Health!

What Happens After a 1st Failed Drug Test on Probation?

Probation often comes with the stipulation that you must consent to random drug tests. There is no real way around this, especially if you were released to a drug rehabilitation program or form of drug court. Drug testing is a certain way to ensure that you are keeping up with the conditions of your release.

The good news is that a first failed drug test may not have the severe consequences that you imagine. In most cases, you are let off with a warning, but in other cases, a probation violation hearing may be held.

It is worth noting, that if you have tested positive for drugs, many probation officers will allow rehab for their clients, in the hopes of promoting a better and more lasting success that avoids recidivism.

Seeing a Warning As a Call to Get Help

A warning is especially likely if you have been consistent about meeting all of the other requirements of your probation. For example, you might be attending your counseling sessions, making progress toward entering back into the community, and meeting your community service requirements.

Once you receive this warning, you need to return to the basic tenets of your recovery. Get help to keep future relapses from happening. Whether this means applying to an inpatient program or going to 12-step meetings more frequently, you need help to stay sober.

Other Potential Outcomes for a First Failed Drug Test

What happens after a 1st failed drug test on probation can vary depending on your original charges, your probation officer, and how you choose to approach the failed test results.

In some cases, your first warning will also increase community service hours. You may see an uptick in the required hours, especially if you continue to fail your drug tests.

With that in mind, you will eventually be required to do more than just serve the community if you continue to use alcohol or other substances.

When community service does not seem to do the trick, you may be required to complete a drug rehabilitation program like the detox and inpatient programs offered at Icarus Behavioral Health. These programs are designed to help you navigate a sober lifestyle and deal with the underlying reasons for your substance use.

Some people may refuse to seek treatment, which can leave your probation officer no choice but to go through the process of revoking your probation. You may end up back in the courts and in front of a judge who will not be as lenient given your forays back into drug use.

What to Do If You Fail a Drug Test on Probation

Whether you get random drug tests or regular ones, you need to know what to do if you cross that line and fail a test. It can help to be upfront with your probation officer, even before you take the test. Make sure that you are complying with all aspects of your probation, including seeking help for a substance use issue.

You should never simply skip your drug test just because you know that it will not pass. Not showing up for your test indicates guilt anyway, and your probation officer will not be happy that you are not being compliant on multiple fronts.

Once you fail a drug test you must stop using the substance altogether. You do not want a second failed drug test as the punishment is likely to escalate beyond a warning.

Continued failed drug testing can result lead the courts revoking your probation.

Can a Probation Officer Revoke Probation?

While a warning might be issued for your first failed probation drug test, this should serve as a clear indicator that you need help. For those with a regular drug use habit, you will need to put a little more effort into getting clean if you want to stay out of county jail, be it in Bernalillo County or elsewhere in the state.

Sticking with your sober lifestyle is challenging, especially if you begin to return to the same scenarios and lifestyle you were in when you were using before. If you do not get help to stay clean and start to pass your drug tests, your probation can and likely will be revoked in the state of New Mexico.

Take Your Life and Your Fate Back: Get Help Staying Sober

There will not be much a criminal defense attorney can do to get you off the hook if you continue to violate the terms of your probation. Drug tests that keep coming back with evidence of your substance use will result in a probation revocation hearing.

When your probation officer and the court process revoke probation, you may find that you lose your freedom. More than just community service hours, you may find that you have to serve the rest of your sentence.

In other words, the consequences of a failed drug test could land you more jail time on top of what you may have already served.

Effective Ways of Getting the Help You Need

Failed drug tests usually indicate that you need more help with your recovery. You may be in mental or emotional trouble right before you fail a drug test. You need experienced mental health professionals and a team of skilled counselors to help you stay clean. Icarus Behavioral Health can assist you through this process.

We work closely with the drug court in Albuquerque, as well as the judges and probation officers at court ordered rehab programs across New Mexico. This allows up to know when you fail a drug test and to offer more intensive support to help you avoid a probation revocation. Our services help you to remain clean and compliant, on the streets instead of incurring jail time.

Reach Out for Support and Complete Probation Successfully

At Icarus Behavioral Health, we want you to be able to get on with your life in the most meaningful way possible with the fewest penalties. If you are ready to take the first steps away from failing drug tests and take your recovery seriously, call our compassionate Admissions team today.

All calls are completely confidential, even from your PO, and we can and will work with you to find the resources that make the fulfillment of your probation easier and less stressful. Give yourself a chance at freedom and lasting recovery, and reach out now!