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Drug Testing Methods at Work Place

UsaDrugTest — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:30:10 +0000

A drug test is commonly a technical examination to determine the presence or absence of specified drugs or their metabolized traces. According to the Chicago land Chamber of Commerce, “Over 70% of all illicit drug users are employed. Small and medium-sized firms employ 80% of the U.S. workforce where drug testing policies & programs are not in place. Absenteeism, increased health care costs and decreased productivity due to alcohol and other substance abuse cost a company $1,000 per employee per year.” It gives the importance of drug testing at work place.

Primarily there are five methods of drug testing. Those are

. Urine drug testing: Urine drug test is the most common, inexpensive, simple and easy to administer. Urine drug tests are reliable and can be tested individually and at other places.

. Blood drug testing: Blood testing is one of the most accurate drug testing but intrusive and expensive.

. Hair drug testing: When used in right time hair testing gives more accurate results and it is most expensive drug testing.

. Saliva drug testing: Oral drug testing is the simplest form of drug testing, which is increasingly used, as it is the least intrusive test procedure.

. Sweat drug testing: Sweat tests are patches attached to the skin to collect sweat over a long period of time (10–14 days).

Drug testing, and particularly random drug testing is not allowed in every state in the United States. There are certain guidelines mentioned by The Federal Drug-Free Work Place Act of 1988. Following guidelines give the minimum requirements.

. Publish a policy statement prohibiting unlawful use, possession, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances in the workplace;

. Notify employees of said prohibition and the penalty for violating it;

. Establish a drug-free awareness program;

. Provide employees engaged in a contract with a copy of the policy statement;

. Notify employees that compliance with the policy statement is a condition of employment;

. Require (in writing in your policy) employees to notify the employer within five

. Days if they are convicted of a criminal drug statute violation occurring in the workplace;

. Make a good-faith effort to maintain a drug-free workplace through these provisions.

In 2004 SAMHSA proposed a new rule that would allow federal agencies to use sweat, saliva and hair in federal drug testing programs that now only test urine. The proposal would also allow selected specimen testing at the time and place it is collected.

Drug testing has an important role in safety-critical and other occupations where the public is entitled to expect the highest standards of safety and probity. In order to make the workforce free from drug use at work places several new methods are in line under the rules proposed by SAMHSA that are unintrusive, inescapable and yield accurate results.

Hair Drug Testing: Accurate and Effective

UsaDrugTest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:47:00 +0000

Many companies require a drug test when hiring a new employee. They may require it instead of or alongside of a background check. This ensures companies that they are getting an employee that is reliable. However, while most utilize urine drug testing, many have not caught on to the effective and accurate method of hair drug testing that would provide them a much better view of an individual.

The bottom line is that the traditional forms of drug testing are not going to provide information on a very long period of time. For example, with urine most drugs are only detectable for a few days after their use. While there are some drugs that may be detected past this time frame, it is possible that the drug would pass out of the body quickly and be undetected by the test. While many companies combat this by having employees take the test within 24 or 48 hours it is still not foolproof. In comparison, a hair drug test is going to provide a 90 day history of the applicant’s drug habits. This can be tested with 1.5 inches of hair.

It is amazing that the hairs on our head hold so much information. While head hair is preferable, it is even possible for hair on other areas of the body to be used. It is remarkable that this information is simply hidden inside the follicles of our hair and can be pulled out at any time.

A hair drug test screens for the same drugs that a urine test screens for. When the lab tests for drugs through this method they would typically remove about 40-50 strands. This may seem like a lot but it is really a small amount of hair. I’m sure it will grow back quickly!

The great thing about using a hair drug test is that it could be potentially used in random drug pools to be a more accurate indication of an individual’s drug use, especially when a company or position has a strict anti-drug policy. Generally speaking random drug pools are used in very safety sensitive positions and other positions that require people to be in tip top condition at all times. By utilizing this type of test they are going to get more accurate results that will potentially help keep more individuals off drugs and weed out those individuals that are getting away with using on the job.

Drug testing accuracy is really based on the technology that is used for the test. It is also dependent upon the skills of the organization you use for processing the drug screens. This makes it very important to research and understand the company you are utilizing for your drug screening procedures. Further, proper handling of all samples is very important as is the processing of the samples. Work with a well-known and professional company to achieve the best results. Often times the nature of the drugs themselves will sway the results as the chemical nature varies widely for each drug.

As companies look for ways to hire the best employees they may start to have stricter standards when it comes to background check procedures and drug screens. Perhaps hair drug testing will be the new way to go. Perhaps we can say goodbye to the little cup we think of so fondly when we enter our local drug testing facility and say hello to a nice new pair of shears. Only time will tell.

Hair Follicle Drug Test

UsaDrugTest — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:31:47 +0000

Hair sample drug testing is a great way to detect whether or not a person has used drugs in the past 90 days. Hair sample drug test is efficient in determining an individual’s drug use history when compared with other drug tests because trace amounts of drug chemicals become trapped inside cortex of each hair. The presence of drugs in hair is based on a simple principle. Drugs that are ingested circulate in a person’s bloodstream that nourishes developing hair follicles. A simple lab test can detect these trace chemicals making for either a positive or negative test result.

Hair Follicle Drug Test:

Hair drug screen is the method for detecting drugs in hair using enzyme-immunoassay (EIA). EIA measures the drug molecules in the hair, which were deposited into the hair follicle after the drug was used. The five drug classes mandated by the Federal Government for hair drug testing are: Cocaine (Cocaine & Benzoylecgonine), Marijuana (THC), Opiates (Codeine, Morphine & 6- Monacteyl Morphine), Methamphetamine (Meth, Amphetamine & Ecstasy) and Phencyclidine (PCP).

Before the hair follicle drug test is actually started, the shell of the hair strands is stripped away to eliminate any external contaminants. The sensitivity levels for hair follicle drug test are different for the drug tested. The sensitivity levels for the hair follicle drug test are measured in terms of Pico grams per Milliliter (pg/ml). The cutoff level for Marijuana metabolite class is 1 pg/ml. where as for Opiates class it is 500 pg/ml. The other three classes Cocaine metabolite, Phencyclidine (PCP) and Amphetamines/Methamphetamine MDMA (Ecstasy) have sensible levels at 300 pg/ml.

Advantages of Hair Follicle Drug Test:

An illegal drugs substance abuser may abstain from using drugs for 3 days to 2 weeks prior to applying for a job. With traditional drug testing, there is a good chance that the applicants will test negative and then start using again once they are hired in. There is also the chance of adulterating the specimen. Companies that implement hair follicular drug testing can be relieved to know that this is not possible with hair testing. Abstaining or adulterating the specimen cannot beat hair tests.

Employee drug testing programs often incorporate hair follicle drug testing into their plans because of the sheer accuracy of these tests. Likewise, hair follicle drug testing does not involve the embarrassing collection of samples like that of urine or saliva drug tests. In most cases, a few strands of hair are all that is needed to obtain accurate results.