Drug and alcohol monitoring in Los Angeles

What monitoring means here

Drug and alcohol monitoring is more than a series of tests. It is an agreement: you test on a random or scheduled basis, results go to the people you choose, and someone keeps track of the whole picture. At Blackburn Monitoring, that someone is your monitoring coordinator.

Your coordinator learns why you are testing, what success looks like for you and your family or program, and what worries you. They set up your schedule, make sure the right people receive results with your written authorization, and stay available by phone. If your life changes, such as a new job, a move, or a hard week, your plan can change with it.

Monitoring is often most useful during transitions: leaving residential treatment, moving out of sober living, returning to work, finishing a legal case, or repairing trust with family. These are the moments when structure matters most and when it is easiest to drift.

What is included

• A monitoring coordinator: a real person who knows your situation and answers your calls.
• A plan set case by case: test types and frequency chosen for your goal and adjusted over time.
• Random notification: electronic notices tell you when to report for testing, so results reflect everyday life.
• Drugs and alcohol together: 12 panel urine screens, breath tests, EtG alcohol tests and saliva testing on request, in one program.
• Confirmation when it counts: presumptive positives can be sent to a partner laboratory.
• Consent-based reporting: results are shared quickly and only with people you authorize in writing.
• Chain of custody: documentation available when a court, attorney or professional program needs it.
• A path to more help: referrals across Blackburn when testing alone is not enough.

Who uses ongoing monitoring

• People in recovery

  A record of negative tests is concrete proof of the work you are doing. It can make conversations with family, employers and partners easier.

  Recovery monitoring

• Families

  Parents and spouses get objective information instead of guessing, and a coordinator to call when they have questions.

  For families

• Clinicians and programs

  With client consent, therapists and outpatient programs receive results quickly and can respond early.

  For clinicians

• Licensed professionals

  Private accountability testing and support alongside any program your licensing board requires.

  For professionals

Choosing the right tests

A good monitoring plan matches the test to the question. A breathalyzer shows alcohol in your system right now, so it works well for checks at a specific time. An EtG urine test looks back much further: Mayo Clinic Laboratories notes that EtG can be detectable for up to about 5 days after drinking at a 500 ng/mL cutoff, depending on how much was consumed (Mayo Clinic Laboratories). Research on people in addiction treatment found that lower cutoffs catch more drinking but must be interpreted carefully (Lowe et al., 2015).

For drugs, an instant 12 panel urine screen covers common substances such as opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines and cannabis. Saliva testing, available on request, tends to detect more recent use and has shorter windows (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2019).

Because some everyday products, like alcohol-based hand sanitizer and mouthwash, can produce detectable EtG (Mayo Clinic Laboratories), your coordinator will go over what to avoid and ask you to tell us about any prescribed medications before you start. Read more on our EtG test page and lab confirmation page.

What happens if a test is positive

A positive result is information, not a verdict. Instant screens can be wrong, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse advises confirming positive screens and not using a test result as the only basis for decisions about someone’s care. Here is what we do:

1. Confirm when needed. A presumptive positive can be sent to a partner laboratory for confirmation.
2. Talk first. Your coordinator reaches out to you, asks about medications or other explanations, and listens.
3. Report as agreed. Results go to the people you authorized, as your agreement describes.
4. Offer a next step. If you are struggling, we help you find support: therapy or psychiatric care, a stronger living environment, mentoring, or scholarship help for treatment.

Our goal is never to catch people. It is to help people get honest information early enough to act on it.

If you or someone you love is in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). For a medical emergency or suspected overdose, call 911. For free, confidential treatment referrals any time, the SAMHSA National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357.

Low cost, by design

Ongoing monitoring should be something people can afford for as long as it helps. We keep our programs low cost. What affects your cost is how often you test, which tests are included, whether results are sent for lab confirmation, whether you need chain of custody documentation, and whether you use mobile testing. See what testing costs, and why.

Where you test

Testing is by appointment at 12326 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM. For notices that fall outside those hours, testing can be arranged at other Blackburn locations on the Westside. Mobile testing at home or work is available for an additional fee. We do not accept walk-ins.

Need more than testing?

A test result tells you what is happening. It does not tell you what to do next. Because Blackburn Monitoring is part of The Blackburn Group, your coordinator can connect you with the right kind of help without starting from scratch somewhere else.

• Therapy and psychiatry

  Individual therapy and psychiatric care for substance use and the mental health concerns that often travel with it.

  Blackburn Clinical Services

• Sober living

  Structured sober living and sober apartments for men in West Los Angeles, for when more support at home would help.

  Blackburn Recovery Services

• Mentoring

  One-on-one mentoring for accountability and structure, with a consistent person who checks in and helps you follow through.

  Blackburn Mentoring

• Scholarship help

  Treatment scholarships through our nonprofit for people who need care and cannot cover the full cost.

  The Blackburn Foundation

Your monitoring coordinator can make the introduction.

Start your monitoring plan

Call us and tell us what you need. We will explain the options, recommend a plan, and set up who receives your results. Learn more about how it works, compare with our random testing program, or get started.