Different Methods to Test Drug Abuse

Drug tests are conducted to find out whether a person has abused illicit drugs or not. Drug tests are increasingly becoming compulsory at many work places. People always look towards the ways to pass the drug tests. They may look at a household product or homemade solutions, or whether they need to go through a Napolitano newborn’s screening. Drug tests are now a norm particularly when seeking employment. Often, if a person does not clear the drug testing it can lead to disqualifying for a job.

What are the Methods for Testing the Drug Abuse?

There are four primary types of testing the drug abuse by taking the samples: Urine, Hair, Saliva, and Blood. Most common is the urine test which has the benefit of being inexpensive and less intrusive than the blood test. The following information gives about the methods which are followed by the drug abusers to pass a drug test.

Method #1 – Urine Tests

· They are the least expensive of the test methods

· They can be done at home (for example by parents)

· They detect use primarily within the past week (longer with regular use)

· They can be affected by abstaining from use for a period of time before the test

· They are often temperature tested to insure sample integrity

Method #2 – Hair Tests

· They are considered as the least intrusive method of drug testing.

· Currently they are many times more expensive than urine tests.

· They detect substance use over a longer period.

· Usually they do not detect usage within the past week.

· It requires a sample of hair which is about 1.5 inches long – test cannot be done with a single hair.

· Test positive a little more than twice as often as a urine test.

· They are not significantly affected by brief periods of abstinence from drugs.

· Sometimes they can be used to determine when usage occurred and if it has been discontinued or not.

· It claims to be able to reliably differentiate between opiate and poppy seed use.

Method #3 – Saliva Tests

· They can be done at home (for example by parents).

· It can detect usage primarily within the past week (longer with regular use).

· It can be affected by abstaining from use for a period of time before the test.

Method #4 – Blood Tests

· They are considered the most intrusive method of testing.

· They are the most expensive method of testing.

· They are the most accurate method of testing.

· They are the least common method of testing (most likely due to cost).

This information helps to look for methods to test the drug abusage. As you saw, there are various methods for testing the drug abuse, it is always suggestible to get self-tested first and then be sure to pass any test.