Drug Testing
Drug testing has become a popular form of quality control in companies, organizations and governments across the world. Due to the issues relating to drug use in employees, drug testing has become a way to identify those who need rehabilitated as well as filter out those who are not deemed suitable for certain positions, such as law enforcement.
There are several methods of drug testing. The methods utilized by companies is usually dependent on how sensitive the position you are in or applying for is. Low level or entry positions will tend to make use of urine tests only. These tests only confirm if there has been any drug usage during the time the drug remains in your system. The levels of drugs in urine can be missed if it is bordering the lifespan of the drugs they are testing for. Urine tests can be checked immediately through use of test cards.
Drug testing utilizing blood samples are usually used by law enforcement agencies, as these tests are extremely sensitive, and can show drug usage that urine samples cannot. Drugs will show until the last remnants are eliminated, which makes this a good choice for random drug tests. Blood tests are more expensive than urine tests, and require lab time to complete.
Saliva tests are almost exclusively used by insurance agencies, as they can be done whenever those being tested and a representative of the insurance company meet. Saliva tests, like blood tests, are more expensive and require lab time to complete.
The last type of drug testing used is the hair test. Hair tests are almost impossible to avoid, difficult to fool, and are used for the most sensitive of positions. The hair samples can be taken from any part of the body, so shaving your head to avoid having to take the test will not help. These tests are also so sensitive that the results can be formed into a six month time line of any drugs that you may have used. This is due to the fact that the drugs form into the hairs onto your body and are embedded into the hair cells as they are created.
As technology for drug testing has improved, the requirements for sensitive job positions has as well. If you have used recreational drugs in the past, it is suggested that you are clean of any drug for at least six months before applying for any sensitive work or government agency.