Drug Screening or drug testing is the process of collecting a sample (urine, blood, saliva or breadth) from the human body to test the presence and or absence of a drug. The testing procedure for each test is customized on the basis of the test requirements. Your testing laboratory will assist you in determining which drug and kind of test is required.
Drugs tested include alcohol, opioids, tobacco, over-the-counter drugs, amphetamines, THC ( marijuana), sports enhancing drugs, prescription medications, cocaine, Phencyclidine (PCP) and many other illegal substances.
Drug screening is used most commonly by employers to retain a healthy working environment, pre-employment screening. Another drug testing is used for medical management of drug abuse and counselling, court requirements, abuse determination, athletic testing, incident management and misuse of drugs and personal reasons.
Each drug test will have a different time frame for reporting. Most tests are reported as positive or negative drug test results. Positive results mean that the result is above the reference range and a negative is below the range. Positive results may require further testing depending on medical review and recommendation. A negative result does not necessarily rule out the use of drugs.
Common Types of Drug Screening
Urine Drug Test
The most requested drug test in the industry is a urine drug test (UDT). This is a commonly used test to detect alcohol, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opioids, opiates, cocaine, THC.
Urine drug testing can test for multiple drugs for example a 5-panel drug test can test for 5 drugs and a 10 – panel can test for 10 drugs.
Examples of panels:
5-panel urine drug test includes the following drugs:
• Cocaine
• Opioids
• Phencyclidine
• THC
• Amphetamines
10-panel urine drug test includes the following drugs:
• Benzodiazepines
• Cocaine
• Opioids
• THC
• Methadone
• Methaqualone
• Amphetamines
• Barbiturates
• Propoxyphene
• Phencyclidine
There are numerous panels more that can be tested.
Breadth Drug Test
This test will provide a quick result of alcohol consumption recently. It uses a device that the individual will blow into called a breathalyzer which will provide a measure of the alcohol level in a person’s body. There is current research that shows that BrAC can sometimes provide results that have an error factor. Due to this saliva alcohol testing is now becoming more common.
Blood Drug Test
This test is used commonly for alcohol testing levels. It provides an accurate level of alcohol in a person’s blood stream.
Hair Drug Test
Hair drug testing is used when there is a need to determine the duration a drug is being consumed. It provides accurate results for a period of 90 days and up to one year for slow-growth hair. The test is often used to determine an individual’s use of cocaine, opioids, phencyclidine (PCP), amphetamines and other drugs. These are drugs often used over a longer period of time and hair gives the best results due to the duration it is retained in the human body.
Sweat Drug Testing
Sweat testing will provide results that can have a duration of hours to weeks. The patch is applied to a person’s body to determine the number of drugs they are consuming. The patch is removed from the person after a period. This is not commonly used as the other drug testing processes are more convenient. This test will require the person to return to the testing facility for the patch to be removed and tested. Tampering with the test patch is easily determinable.
If you as an individual or an employer are looking to conduct drug screening, SmarTest Labs is able to provide you with all these services. Call SmarTest Labs at 301-686-8566 to schedule your appointments. Drug testing is crucial to keep our enlivenments safe.
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