A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites.

Common types of drug tests

Urine drug screen

Saliva drug screen / Oral fluid-based drug screen

Urine drug testing

Urine drug test kits are available as on-site tests, or laboratory analysis. Urinalysis is the most common test type and used by federally mandated drug testing programs, yet likely the least effective.The main disadvantages of urine-based drug test kits is/are the ease at which they can be “cheated” via simple adulteration or substitution, unless specimen collection is directly observed, inability to detect current / on-the-job drug abuse, the need for bathroom facilities, and with respect to SAMHSA-5, or NIDA-5, the inability to test for drugs commonly abused/mis-used in current society.

Saliva drug testing

Saliva (oral) drug test kits are very donor friendly, non-invasive and easy to collect the specimen. There is no need for a bathroom to administer the tests. Saliva drug testing tends to detect recent drug use. Also these drug tests are harder to adulterate than the urine drug tests since the sample can be obtained under direct supervision. Depending on the test, up to 8 different drugs could be detected. This method is the best method for determining recent use and is a potential indicator of impairment.

The following drugs are detectable

• Amphetamines eg Speed
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines eg Valium, Rohypnol, Mogadon
• Buprenorphine
• Cocaine
• EDDP
• Ketamine
• Methadone
• Methamphetamines eg Ecstasy
• Opiates eg Heroin or Morphine
• PCP (phencyclidine)
• THC (Marijuana)
• TCA (tricyclic anti-depressants)

This information was brought to you by Drugscreen Pty Ltd. Australia’s leading drug and alcohol test company.