Drug testing

Drug Testing

Drug testing is on the rise in the workplace. If you use drugs this drug test primer will give you some information and a few tips on drug tests.

Types of drug tests

Currently there are 5 primary types of drug tests. These include the following:

Urine Drug Testing

Hair Drug Testing

Saliva Drug Testing

Blood Drug Testing

Sweat Drug Testing

Each of the above types of drug tests have their own particular characteristics. Lets' look at a few:

Urine drug testing: The urine drug test is one of the oldest types of drug tests and as of the writing of this article is the drug test of choice among employers. The primary reasons for this is that urine drug tests are easy to administer, inexpensive as compared to other drug tests and the results can be immediate. The main drawback of urine drug testing is that they can be easily beaten and they are considered invasive.

Hair drug testing: The hair drug test is gaining in popularity somewhat due to the fact that they overcome the complaint that they are invasive. Hair drug tests only take about 50 strands of hair which are then sent to a lab, dissolved in a solution and the resultany gases are checked for toxins. Downside for employers; expense. Downside for the person being tested; The length of time drug use can be detected and the need for specialty shampoos to pass them.

Saliva drug testing: The saliva drug test is relatively new on the scene but has rapidly claimed the #2 spot for the frequency of use when drug testing. Saliva drug tests involve the taking of a swab of saliva from the mouth then sending it out to a lab for examination. Downside for employers; Saliva drug tests only detect use in the previous 24-72 hours. Downside for the person being tested; the saliva test can be administered without any notice and there really is no legitimate reason to refuse the test.

Blood drug testing: The blood drug test is almost non-existant in the workplace due to the fully understandible fear of needle use. Blood drug tests very invasive and very expensive. This makes the blood drug test very unattractive to employers.

Sweat drug testing: The sweat drug test involves wearing a patch for 7-14 days on some part of your body to test toxins released from your sweat glands. As with blood drug testing, sweat drug tests are not used by employers because they have no way of enforcing that you wear the patch. Sweat drug tests are usually court ordered and administered when someone is on house arrest.

For more information on specific drug tests see: Urine drug tests, Hair drug tests, Saliva drug tests, Blood drug tests, Sweat drug tests.

Passing a drug test

This article primarily deals with passing employment drug tests. We learned above that sweat and blood drug testing are almost never used in the workplace so we will focus on the remaining three; hair, urine and saliva.

There are a number of steps you can take to assist you with passing all drug tests. They include but are not limited to:

Abstinence

Stop doing drugs as soon as you know you have a drug test

Increased fluid intake

Healthy diet

Moderate excercise

The first step to passing a drug test is to stop doing drugs as soon as you are notified of an upcoming test. The longer you are toxin free the better chance you have of passing. Additionally increase your fluid intake, consume healthy foods and begin a moderate excercise program. All of these will help your body naturally detoxify which is a good thing. Essentially what you are trying to do is kick your toxin levels down below the cutoff level. Before you panic you may also want to check if you are even withing the drug test detection times.

Taking the above steps can help you pass your drug test. Below are some specific steps you can take depending on your individual type of test. See this article for more info to pass a drug test.

Passing a urine drug test

The key to passing your urine drug test is to remove or conceal the presence of toxins from your urine. The primary ways to try to accomplish this is through either internal or external dilution, masking or adulterating the urine sample and my favorite, flushing the toxins from your urinary tract.

Let's start with the worst way to try to pass your urine test; masking agents or adulteration. This is known as trying to generate a false negative drug test result. Masking agents/adulteration involve using some type of chemical additive or substance in the urine sample to conceal the drug metabolites. This is risky for a number of reasons including; 1. If you are caught with the masking agent in the test environment the party is over; 2. Use of masking agents and adulterants can be determined by lab testing. My advise to you is to never use this approach unless you are certain that the test will not be supervised and the urine sample will be tested on site and not sent out to a lab.

Dilution, either external or inernal, is not the best approach to passing a drug test. Urine testing, when performed in the lab, can detect temperature variation and specific gravity variations which can be a red flag to the testing officer. This is called a diluted test result. This may result in you being subjected to more comprehensive drug testing.

In my opinion, your best bet by far is to use some type of flushing agent to remove the toxins from your urine sample. What flushing agents do is remove all traces of toxins from your urinary tract enabling you to provide a clean urine sample. Using this method is desirable because you use flushing agents before the test so you can't get caught with them and there are no adulterants or masking agents in the urine sample to detect.

Passing a hair drug test

There is not much detail to go into in regard to passing a hair drug test. You cannot pass them without some type of hair follicle shampoo. What these shampoos do is strip toxins from your hair shaft so that the hair sample you give for testing is free of drugs.

Passing a saliva drug test

As with hair drug testing saliva drug testing cannot be passed without the use of some type of external aid. This solution to pass a saliva drug test neutralizes toxins in your saliva gland enabling you to provide a clean test sample.

Under what circumstances can I be drug tested?

There are a number of reasons your employer may claim to drug test you. But it is really smoke and mirrors. The reality is your employer can drug test you just about any time they want for whatever reason they choose.

Below are the main reasons you may be drug tested:

Employment drug test: This is the most common drug test. It is given prior to employment.

Post accident drug test: This would occur when you are involved in some type of accident at work. You may be drug tested even if you are not at fault.

For cause drug testing: This is the one that covers about anything your employers chooses. He can claim tardiness to work, decreased productivity, strange behavior or just about anything else he/she can come up with.

Return to duty drug testing: Generally given after an extended leave of abscence. this could be due to a work related injury or even a vacation.

Random drug test: This is the most dangerous type of drug test for the drug user.

Summary

The bottom line is that your employer can drug test you for just about any reason they choose. So be prepared to pass your drug test.