NOWADAYS humans can get tested for many drugs on a variety of occasions. We all have heard of testing drivers for blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and for banned drugs in Olympic Games, but there is also a growing use of drug tests in job applicants across the spectrum of American industry. Further, people in key occupations are routinely tested, including airline pilots, railroad engineers, truck drivers, and military personnel. Actually, drug testing has become a way of life in America.THE BEST body fluid to use for drug testing is the blood, but it is also the most painful and expensive to sample. Urine, breath and saliva are also used, but urinalysis is by far the most common.
TEST PROCEDURES for drug testing fall into two categories: SCREENING and CONFIRMATION. A "false positive" test results if a laboratory reports the presence of a drug or its breakdown products, whereas in actuality the specimen does not contain that substance. In a "false negative", the lab fails to detect and report the presence of a drug that is actually there. A false positive results typically owing to the presence of another chemical substance in the blood that behaves similarly under the test conditions. For example, a false positive test for amphetamines can be given by a common stimulant drug found in cold medicines or a common decongestant drug. Dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) can give a false-positive for opiates
HERE ARE DRUGS commonly tested for today: AMPHETAMINES, BARBITURATES, BENZODIAZEPINES (e.g., Valium), COCAINE, ETHYL ALCOHOL, LSD, METHADONE, OPIATES (e.g., heroin), PROPOXYPHENE, MARIJUANA, METHAQUALONE, PHENCYCLIDINE (PCP). Be aware that in some cases, the drug can be detected in the urine long after the last dose. For example, after heavy use marijuana can be detected for up to 10 days. In chronic users, PCP is detected up to 30 days. Also be aware that passive inhalation of pot smoke in a small, enclosed area can produce measurable blood levels in the non-smoker.
IN THE PROPER collection of a urine sample, precautions must be taken to preclude deception. The donor is checked to make sure no spcimen of "safe" urine is hidden on his body. He urinates in a room that has no hot water or soap, and the toilet water is dyed blue. His specimen is assigned numbers, and handling documentation is assured. Attempts at deception are now well known, and good collection sites and testing labs will have all precautions in place.
DRUG TESTING IN THE HOME, for those who desire it, is possible using test kits such as "Drug Alert". This kit is designed to detect even trace amounts of residual PCP, marijuana, hashish, and crack cocaine on doorknobs, articles of furniture, desk tops, sink or books. Critics claim this type of test is counterproductive and violates constitutional rights.
ANALYSIS OF HAIR for drugs or their breakdown products has become possible, and in certain states is used as part of pre-employment procedures. Experts in personal drug testing, however, have raised questions about the accuracy of using hair as a test medium.
FOR FAR MORE on the topic of personal drug testing, including real life case histories, see my book, "Drugs and the Human Body", ISBN 0-13-177321-6, Seventh Ed., Prentice Hall.