Drug testing programs are becoming increasingly important for employers to maintain a healthy and safe work environment. While these tests might be new to workplaces, drug tests have been previously used by law enforcement officers, medical practitioners, and criminal justice professionals for several decades.
There are several types of samples considered to perform a drug test. Each of these methods come with unique pros and cons while providing varying levels of accuracy. Here we will discuss five types of drug tests widely used.
1. Blood Test
A blood test is considered the golden standard for drug testing. Although an expensive process, it can accurately deduce an individual’s drug report at any point in time. The technique detects the presence of drugs or other substances along with metabolites in the blood.
The test panels can effectively detect the presence of opioids, cocaine, marijuana, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and nicotine, sometimes even after weeks of consumption. For example, a blood drug test can identify THC traces in the blood even after weeks of using cannabis. It can also indicate the presence of alcohol in the system for about 24 hours from drinking.
Apart from detecting the presence, it can also give away the actual concentration of the drugs in the blood, which can provide critical information such as the level or the intensity of intoxication or the possibility of drug or alcohol abuse.
2. Urine Test
A urine test is one of the most common forms of drug testing. It is a painless process that can detect the traces of illegal drugs or prescription medication in the system. The test can screen the presence of versatile drugs and illegal substances, including cocaine, PCP, marijuana, benzodiazepines, methamphetamines, amphetamines, methadone, opioids, and even alcohol. This is why urine is the most common sample for a mandatory 5-panel drug test of employees.
The science behind the use of urine is that the metabolites or the compounds formed due to metabolization during the digestion process utilize urine as an excretion pathway. Therefore analytical methods can deduce traces of any drugs or illegal substances.
Some of the analytical methods that respond to drug presence in the urine include gas spectrometry, mass spectrometry, thin layer chromatography, and immunoassays. Immunoassays are useful as a cost-effective primary drug test. But the results of the test cannot detect the presence of opioids. It also exhibits a risk of showing false positives. Therefore gas chromatography or other methods mentioned above are commonly used as confirmation tests. They might be expensive but give reliable results.
3. Saliva Testing
Saliva is rapidly becoming one of the most common samples for conducting drug tests. The process is pain-free and effective and provides quick results as well. The test subjects either use a mouth swab or spit into a cup to provide the saliva sample for testing.
The test report can provide details about alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and cocaine. Saliva analysis can detect the traces soon after 24- 48 hours of drug usage. The test’s accuracy is much higher for recent drug use, especially in the case of marijuana, where the cannabinoid, such as THC, can be detected only if consumed within 10 hours before the test.
4. Perspiration Testing
A perspiration test is, in fact, quite a new technique to join the list of drug testing methods. For the test, the subject is affixed with a sweat patch on the skin for 14 days. The patch helps to detect the traces of drugs excreted by the body through perspiration. It can deduce the presence of LSD, heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine.
The process is intensive and requires a lot of time to give results. Therefore, the method is commonly used as monitoring practice to ensure an individual is staying off drugs, such as for people in recovery or probation.
5. Hair Testing
The hair can give away a lot about the history of a person’s drug use. It is because drug metabolites tend to enter the bloodstream and end up in the hair follicles through the blood vessels present in the scalp. The hair filters these compounds and preserves them in their structure. Therefore the test can accurately reveal if a person has a history of drug usage.
But the process is inaccurate while trying to assess if the person is currently using any drugs, as the metabolic residues remain in the hair follicles for a long time after use, even for several months in some cases. No amount of shampooing or product usage can eliminate these traces. Therefore a person might test positive if they consumed any drug over the past few months even if they are following a clean lifestyle at the time of the test.
Therefore, hair testing is irrelevant for a scenario where an individual’s current drug usage is under screening. It is also considered costly and involves a lengthy process than other methods here and is therefore rarely used.
Conclusion
Administering a proper drug test is essential to receive accurate results. Contaminants or the use of certain prescription drugs can cause false positives. Make sure to request a backup sample or a retest in case your results show a false positive.
