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A drug test may be taken for a variety of reasons such as pre-employment, random employee drug testing, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion. Whatever the reason, these tests can be administered in a variety of fashions. The most common are urinalysis or saliva tests, however, hair tests, perspiration, residue, or blood tests may be taken as well. Often tested drugs include cannabinoids, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and phencyclidine. These cover the more commonly used drugs, but any drug can be tested for. You’re probably wondering how drug tests know whether or not you’ve used drugs. It’s a fairly simple process. When you do drugs, they get broken down in the liver creating metabolites. Many of these leave the body quickly, but the ones that don’t get stored in your fat cells. As your body breaks down fat these metabolites are released into your blood stream where they then can get excreted into your saliva or leave your body through your urine. Metabolites can go through your system for a few days or up to a few months depending on the drug and the amount taken. Your weight and metabolism also play a role in the length of time that metabolites will travel through your body. Urine tests are the most widely used drug tests because they are easily administered, fairly inexpensive, and accurate. There’s a few different ways to get the results. An instant test may be taken or a lab may examine the specimen. Either way, the metabolites in your system are what urine tests read to know which drugs you have taken, if any. These tests also check temperature, creatinine levels, and pH levels to ensure that the samples have not been altered. Once it is determined that the tests results are positive, a process known as GC/MS, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, is used. Gas chromatography is used to separate the substances in the sample and then a positive identification can be made through mass spectrometry. Saliva tests are another common method for drug testing, but not used as often due to the fact that many drugs only show up in saliva for a few days after use and they are usually more expensive than urine tests. The specimen is collected from a cotton swab usually placed in the mouth for a few minutes to absorb enough saliva. The test is then either performed instantly, or sent to a lab for analyzation. Metabolites are picked up in your saliva, just as they are in urine tests, which allow the examiner to know whether or not you’ve been using drugs. Hair, perspiration, and residue tests aren’t used too commonly in the workplace. These tests are often expensive and contamination is common. If a person is in a room where marijuana is smoked, for example, residue can attach to that person’s hair or body resulting in a false positive. Studies have shown that darker color hair may actually cause drugs to show up more strongly than in people who have lighter colored hair. For these reasons, the above methods are used more often. Drug Test How To Pass A Drug Test Passing A Drug Test Urine Drug Test Saliva Drug Test Home Drug Tests Instant Drug Tests Drug Testing Drug Abuse Teenage Drug Abuse Drug Addictions Drug Overdose Drug Help Drug Rehabilitation Legal Drug Side Effects Illicit Drug Side Effects Online College Test Help |
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