While drug and alcohol misuse affects many parts of society, it may be especially harmful in the workplace. A company’s income may suffer due to a decrease in productivity among its workers. More and more firms are developing procedures to identify the use of illegal drugs, prescription medicines, and alcohol in the workplace.
Types of Drug Tests
The kind of substance or drug being tested and the sorts of samples required for lab analysis all influence the type of test that will be performed. There are several typical methods for conducting a drug test. So, let’s have a look at the 5 common tests-
1. Urine Test
Testing for drugs and alcohol is most often done via a urine sample. For workers in certain professions, companies may use it as part of pre-employment screening, at random, or after an accident. For federally-mandated testing, only urinalysis is currently authorized. This kind of drug testing is also the least intrusive and the most lawful.
The presence or absence of drug metabolites in a person’s urine may be determined using this biological testing. Even after a person has stopped using drugs, metabolites are still in the body and may be detected in urine samples. This does not necessarily mean that the individual was under drugs when the test was taken.
2. Hair Test
A hair test may detect a 90-day window of drug use, which is considered the most significant sign of recurrent drug use. To evade a positive test, persons may no longer abstain for many days before being tested since hair testing has a broader “detection window.” Additionally, hair tests may be used to make comparisons between test results and determine when and how long a drug was used and when it was stopped being taken.
An excellent alternative for pre-employment and random drug testing programs, hair testing, necessitates a tiny sample of hair gathered under observation without violating privacy. Cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamines, PCP, and opioids may be detected with hair testing.
3. Breathe Test
Law enforcement often uses Breath tests to check drivers for alcohol intoxication. The blood plasma alcohol content of drivers is measured by the breathalyzers used by the traffic control officers. It’s a common technique for roadside testing since it’s non-invasive and quick.
4. Oral Fluid Test
To conduct an oral fluid drug test, a sample of saliva is taken from within the mouth using a mouth swab. Since the cost of alternative drug tests might be prohibitive for many businesses, mouth swab drug testing has remained popular. The most frequent approach is to swab the inner cheek to administer them.
The samples are then forwarded to the lab for screening and confirmation. Reduces tampering, bashful bladder, and donor challenge later on in the screening procedure as a result
5. Blood Test
As intrusive as blood testing is, it is the most reliable way to determine a person’s actual blood alcohol content. Twenty-four hours after drinking, some blood tests reveal the exact amount of drunkenness.
To avoid the invasiveness of standard blood draws, several laboratories and other institutions now provide a less invasive blood sample collecting procedure.