Top Methods For Drug And Alcohol Tests
Drug and alcohol tests are increasingly being done in many institutions. Corporate
offices are requiring them from their employees. Law enforcement agencies, including
prison facilities hold random drug and alcohol tests as mandated by the government.
And recently schools across America have also instigated random testing for its
students. The purpose of a drug and alcohol test is prevention. It helps discourage
people from using dangerous substances; thus it protects society and also the
individual, from worse consequences. Remember that if a person is convicted for
drug use the law promises stiff punishment (much stiffer than just being fired).
In many cases, those found positive for a test are made to undergo drug and
alcohol treatment before their status as workers or employees is then re-evaluated.
Here are common methods for undertaking drug and alcohol tests that you may
come across:
- Urinalysis. The most common procedure for easily detecting substance
abuse, especially drug dependency, is by providing urine samples for laboratory
testing. However, testing drugs in urine is not fool-proof since there are
those who attempt to dilute traces of the substance just by drinking plenty
of water, caffeine, diuretics and other liquids. This can affect test quality.
- Breathalyzer Test. Traces of alcohol can be easily detected with
the use of a breathalyzer, a handheld device police officers carry for the
purpose of spotting drunken drivers. Some restaurants and bars also provide
this service to their customers to tell whether they are fit for driving when
they leave the establishment. Those confined in rehabilitation centers are
also subjected to random test like this to monitor and determine their blood
alcohol level. Results of a breathalyzer test, however, depend on a lot of
factors like your age, your body weight, your metabolism and the amount of
alcohol you have consumed.
- Oral Screening. Another test that can be undertaken to determine
drug or alcohol dependency is through an oral drug or alcohol screening. This
test draws saliva samples from the person for analysis. Compared to other
tests, this method is much more accurate and cannot be tampered with. But
an oral test only has a window of three days at most for analysis, after which
the samples are no longer viable or conclusive.
- Hair follicle drug test. For a more thorough test, hair sample tests
are undertaken because this is rather precise in its substance detection.
Traces of drug or alcohol remain in the hair for at least three to six months
from last use. People may try to avoid detection by shaving off, but the body
hair can be tested instead. It may take a while to generate results of a hair
test since samples have to be shipped to a special facility for analysis.
- Sweat test. An individual subjected to a sweat test will have to
wear a sweat patch on his or her body for at least two weeks. If during that
period, he tries to take illegal drugs or drinks alcohol, it will show in
the patches. Many law enforcement agencies, like the parole board, mandate
the use of these. The sweat patch cannot be easily removed and only a parole
officer is allowed to do so. Some recovering addicts however have exhibited
adverse skin reactions to these patches, so it is actually not the first option
authorities use as a drug or alcohol test. In addition, as these patches are
exposed, the result may be compromised by other contaminants, rendering the
test inconclusive.
Testing laboratories (for both drug and alcohol tests) are governed by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) or the CLIA.
Alcoholism Treatment
|